STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Two cases of the new coronavirus strain have been confirmed in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
One of the two people who tested positive for the new strain recently traveled to the United Kingdom (U.K.), de Blasio said.
“Although I appreciate the federal government is finally acting to restrict who can get on an international flight and require them to have a negative coronavirus test, that’s not good enough,” de Blasio said. “There should be an immediate travel ban from the United Kingdom to the United States.”
The mayor did not say in which borough or boroughs the two New York City cases are located.
First identified in the U.K., the new COVID-19 strain has been found in multiple countries, including the United States.
Last week it was first reported in upstate New York. Health officials found the case in a Saratoga Springs man in his 60s whose condition has since improved from when he first contracted the virus.
While the newly identified strain has not been found to cause more severe symptoms, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is concerned about at-risk individuals coming into contact with the more contagious version of the virus.
What symptoms should we look for?
The symptoms of the new variant so far have been identical to those of the initial strain, doctors say, but the CDC is monitoring the situation closely.
People with the new strain of COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. Those symptoms can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure, and include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Is the U.K. variant more contagious?
The mutations in the new strain seem to affect the coronavirus spike proteins, which cover the outer coating of the virus and give it its characteristic spiny appearance, physicians at Johns Hopkins Medicine said in a Dec. 28, 2020, published report. These proteins help the virus attach to human cells in the nose and other areas and invade the body, causing COVID-19 illness.
“Researchers want to see whether the new strain is more ‘sticky,’ due to changes in the spike protein,” said Dr. Robert Bollinger in the Johns Hopkins report. “But, at this point, that’s not proven, and further studies will reveal more about whether or not the new strain is more easily transmitted.”