1st UK COVID-19 variant reported in North Carolina, Fauci warns strain appears to be more deadly

A new deadly variant of the coronavirus first reported in the United Kingdom has made its first case in North Carolina.

NCDHHS officials reported the first North Carolina COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 in Mecklenburg County Saturday morning.

The B.1.1.7 variant was found in a sample from an adult in Mecklenburg County processed by Mako Medical Laboratories.

This new strain has 195 cases in 21 different states as of January 22, 2021. The variant may become more contagious and deadly, according to newly obtained data.

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the new data shows the strain of COVID-19 that first emerged in the United Kingdom could be deadlier.

We need to assume now what has been circulating in the UK does have an increase in virulence, meaning the power of the virus to cause more damage, including death, Fauci told CBS anchor Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.”

Fauci said that British officials initially indicated that the new variant wasn’t more lethal, but have now reversed course following a study that suggested it was around 30 percent more deadly in older adults.

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