"UK Covid-19 Strain Detected In At Least 60 countries" - WHO Says

The World Health Organization has announced that at least 60 countries have reported either imported cases or community transmission of the UK coronavirus strain known as B.1.1.7.

According to the press release on Wednesday, January 20, the WHO said the countries which first reported cases of the variant first identified in the United Kingdom are the United States, Russia, Brazil, India and Spain.

According to the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that at least 122 cases of the UK variant have been identified in 20 US states including at least 46 cases in Florida; 40 in California; six in Colorado; five in Minnesota; four each in Indiana and New York; two each in Connecticut, Maryland, and Texas; and one each in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The CDC announced that these numbers are from samples analyzed and does not represent the total cases of the variant.

The CDC also advised that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.

Adding to the press release, the WHO said that the B.1.1.7 variant appears to spread more easily, but no evidence suggests that it's any more deadly or causes more severe disease.