COVID-19 testing site sat the Highbridge Recreation Center in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via Flickr
A report released on Monday by the NYC Department of Health shows that 6.2 percent of new COVID cases in NYC are the B.1.1.7 variant (more commonly known as the UK variant), an increase from 2.7 percent in January. The estimate is based on 45 identified variant cases of the 724 specimens sequenced the week of February 8-14. The week prior, it was actually 7.4 percent. On their website which has been updated to include data on variant cases, the NYC DOH says that the UK strain is “more transmissible than other variants and may cause more severe illness.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has tested positive for the coronavirus. "He's in touch with his executive staff. He's at home and he is running the department remotely," NYPD spokesman Rich Esposito told ABC News.