Identifying the strain, which originated in the United Kingdom, generally requires identifying a specific genetic marker. Once that marker is identified, the positive sample must be sequenced to determine if it is the B 1.1.7. strain or any others.
“A sequencing test can take up to 3 days or longer depending on just how strong the signal is within the patient sample,” Travanty said. “We really do not have the capacity for that in Colorado at all to do every positive test that’s coming through so we’re trying to have a targeted approach where we’re looking first for cases that might be the drop-out variant for a signature.”
These active outbreaks have involved 294 among staff and 16 among attendees.
No deaths are attributed to any of these outbreaks.
The two largest active restaurant outbreaks are at In-N-Out in El Paso County, which the CDPHE has 80 confirmed cases, and the one in Arapahoe County, which has 44.
See a full list of restaurant outbreaks below.
Jails and prisons
Correctional facilities account for some of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the state, with 1,404 inmates at the Sterling Correctional Facility and 1,051 at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center having tested positive for the virus.
When prisoners should be vaccinated has been a topic of debate among health experts and politicians.
Q: HOW DOES ONE VARIANT BECOME DOMINANT?
A: That can happen if one variant takes hold and starts spreading in an area, or because “super spreader” events helped it become established.
It also can happen if a mutation gives a new variant an advantage, such as helping it spread more easily than other ones that are circulating.
Scientists are still working to confirm whether the variant in England spreads more easily, but they are finding some evidence that it does. The variant “out-competes the other strains and moves faster and infects more people, so it wins the race,” Landrigan said.
Member of National Guard was first confirmed case of variant in U.S.
The individual was deployed to a nursing home in Simla. A potential case of the variant was also announced in another member of the National Guard. Author: Caitlin Hendee Updated: 11:47 PM CST December 30, 2020
COLORADO, USA The individual state health officials identified as the U.S. s first confirmed case of the COVID-19 variant was a member of the National Guard working at a nursing home in Simla, state health officials announced during a Wednesday news conference.
The news conference came after Colorado leaders on Tuesday announced that a man in Elbert County, where Simla is located, was infected with the COVID-19 variant that was previously reported in the United Kingdom. That was the first confirmed case of the variant in the U.S., according to health officials.