ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday afternoon during an impromptu conference call with reporters that New York State has confirmed its first case of the U.K. variant of COVID-19. The strain was confirmed at the Wadsworth Lab downstate.
Cuomo says a man in Saratoga County, New York was diagnosed with the strain. This individual did not recently travel, and is believed to have caught the new variant by community spread.
"The Wadsworth lab confirmed a case of the U.K. strain in Saratoga County, New York," Cuomo said. "It's a gentleman who is in his 60s. He was symptomatic, but he is on the mend and he's doing better. He did not travel recently, so this suggests that it's in the community, it was community spread as opposed to having traveled to the U.K."
The governor's office says the man is affiliated with N. Fox Jewelers, located in Saratoga Springs, New York. Anyone who visited the jewelry store from December 18 through December 24 are being asked to get tested for COVID-19 immediately.
Three other people in the jewelry store have tested positive for COVID-19, but it's unclear at this time if they have the U.K. strain of the virus.
According New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, the U.K. variant is more transmissible; however, it is not more severe than the original strain.
"You know that the U.K. strain is technically the B117 strain, and it's been identified in California, Colorado, Florida and 33 countries," Cuomo said. "And my guess is the states that are effective at looking for it will find it."