In Michigan, young people are clearly driving the surge, growing tired of precautions and more vulnerable to the new variant. Youth sporting events and school-based outbreaks have been major culprits.
The B.1.1.7, first spotted in the U.K. in September, is a mutated version of coronavirus that s better at attaching to human cells and may be able to cause an infection with a smaller army of viral particles. As a result, smaller slip-ups in masking and social distancing can have more severe consequences. You’re talking about a virus that’s more efficient, Sethi said. Masks have to be used.