Highly Contagious COVID-19 Variant Likely In NC: DHHS Secretary

NORTH CAROLINA — A highly contagious variant of COVID-19 is likely already circulating in North Carolina, the state's top public health official said Friday.

The variant, which is no more dangerous than the original virus but is much more easily transmitted from person to person, was first found in the United States Tuesday in Colorado. Officials in the U.K. claimed, without verification, that the new variant is as much as 53 to 70 percent more contagious than the original virus that originated in China, prompting new shutdowns in London. Both vaccines approved for usage in the United States are believed to be effective in protecting against the multiple variants of the coronavirus. Ongoing tests are being conducted in England to determine antibody and vaccine efficacy in protecting against the new variant.

"It is possible that that variant is here. In fact, it is likely," Mandy Cohen, secretary of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said Friday during a news conference. While it has not been identified in North Carolina, public health officials are operating under the assumption it is circulating, she said.

"We are operating as if it's already here and that we need to realize that this virus was already contagious before, and now it's even more contagious as we go forward," she said.

The news comes as at least 10,028 new COVID-19 case were reported in North Carolina Friday, and 3,960 people hospitalized. Coronavirus deaths rose by 115 Friday, increasing the death toll in the state to 7,328 lives lost to the virus since March, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data.

"In the 10 months that we've been fighting this pandemic, this is the most worried that I've been for our state," Cohen said. "We continue to set new records."

Those new records include intensive care unit hospitalizations, which have led many hospitals to put a halt to non-urgent procedures to free up staff, she said.

Yesterday, for example, a 30-bed field hospital erected at Caldwell UNC Health Care Lenoir, North Carolina began taking coronavirus patients. While the hospital has not yet run out of space, the move was proactive step to help assist medical systems in Lenoir, Boone, Hickory, and Morganton, Laura Easton, president and CEO of the medical facility told WBTV.

The decision to open the field hospital was made locally, Cohen said. "There's not a direct trigger necessarily to say, if this is happening we're going to build a field hospital. For them, that was a solution."

Cohen credited the dramatic rise in cases in North Carolina to exponential growth and general fatigue of following pandemic guidelines, as well as people letting their guard down around the holidays.

"We know that there was holiday travel. We know that these increased cases are linked to the fact that folks are getting together indoors and not wearing their mask," Cohen said.

Earlier this week, Cohen issued a Secretarial Directive telling North Carolinians to:

• Only leave home for essential activities such as going to work or school, for health care purposes, to care for family members or to buy food.
• Avoid leaving home if you are over 65 or at high risk for developing serious illness. Use delivery services or alternative pick-up methods for food and retail.
• Avoid gathering with people who do not live with you.
• Wear a mask and keep distance from people when you leave home.
• Avoid any indoor public spaces where people are not wearing masks.
• Stay away from crowds. Avoid places where people may gather in large numbers.

Vaccinations Underway
This week, North Carolina ramped up vaccination efforts by offering COVID-19 vaccines to residents 75 years old or older. This group is in addition to frontline healthcare workers and those living and working in long-term care facilities.

As of Jan. 8, more than 180,000 North Carolinians had received doses of vaccine, Cohen said.

Soon, front line essential workers — or those who must go in person to jobs that make physical distancing difficult — will become eligible. Those workers include police officers, firefighters and child care workers.

Based upon prioritization and supply, vaccinations will likely be widespread for anyone who wants one by late Spring, Cohen said.

Paige Austin, Patch staff, contributed