NEW YORK CITY (WABC) A patient in a New York City hospital has tested positive for the COVID-19 variant from South Africa.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement during his Monday briefing, saying the patient was transferred from Connecticut to the NYC hospital.
Officials say there is no evidence of any spread in New York state to date. The South African variant they worry about how lethal it is and how it relates to the vaccine, Cuomo said.
The Connecticut state health department confirmed the positive case in a statement. Governor Lamont and state public health officials today announced that the B.1.351 variant of the COVID-19 virus, the so-called South African variant, has been detected in a Connecticut patient who is currently hospitalized out of state with the virus. The individual s condition is improving. This is the first known case of the B.1.351 variant in a Connecticut resident.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement during a press briefing on Monday.
Starting on Feb. 22, the overnight shutdown hours will be adjusted to 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., instead of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. The COVID numbers are down, so we adjust, we adjusted indoor dining, the curfew, today we are going to discuss the MTA and increasing the capacity, Cuomo said.
The governor said during those overnight hours, the trains will still be cleared and sanitized. CDC says it, health experts say it, the COVID virus is not transmitted as much as they initially suggested on surfaces but it still can be transmitted, Cuomo said. You want to be safe in the MTA system from crime and COVID. When you are as old as I am, the trains have never been as clean as they are now.