ALLEGANY COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that a case of the UK variant of COVID-19 was found in Allegany County.
This marks the second case of the UK variant of COVID-19 found in Western New York, after a case was found in Niagara County in January, and the 59th case in New York State since the first case was reported in Saratoga County on January 4th.
The Allegany County Health Department says the variant was found in a student who traveled to Allegany County from another part of the state.
The student who tested positive was already isolated and contact tracing was already conducted before the health department found the random sampling from the Wadsworth Center in Albany.
Experts say the UK variant of COVID-19 is more infectious than the normal COVID strain but, just because it is more infectious, does not mean there is time for panic.
"The numbers are continuing to decline after our post-holiday surge, but we are not out of the woods yet," Governor Cuomo said. "We've flattened the curve for a second time because New Yorkers rallied and pulled together to change their behavior. As we work to get shots in arms as fast as humanly possible, it is now more important than ever that we keep this downward trend going and continue to wear a mask and socially distance."
The daily positivity rate in Western New York on Thursday was 4.69 percent, slightly above New York State's average of 4.67 percent.
