New coronavirus strain from the UK appears in Canada, a few hours away from Detroit

Several cases of a seemingly more contagious coronavirus variant discovered in the United Kingdom have surfaced in Canada, with some of the confirmed cases just a four-hour drive from Detroit.

Cases of the new variant have not been confirmed in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, the agency noted that viruses have only been sequenced from about 51,000 of the 17 million U.S. cases.

"Given the small fraction of U.S. infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in the United States without having been detected," the CDC said on its website, last updated Dec. 22.

Canadian health officials announced the discovery of two cases in the greater Toronto area on Saturday. The couple had been in contact with someone who recently traveled from the U.K., health officials say.

Officials later confirmed two other cases of the new variant.

One case was discovered in Ottawa. That person recently traveled to the U.K, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health announced Sunday.

Another case was discovered in British Columbia. That person returned to Canada from the U.K. on Dec. 15.

The Public Health Agency of Canada did not respond to the Free Press' questions Monday morning. In a statement, the agency said it expects to find more cases of the variant.

Although evidence suggests the new variant could spread more rapidly, according to the CDC, "at this time, there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness or increased risk of death," nor is there evidence that it is more resistant to vaccines.

Canada has much stricter restriction measures involving the coronavirus than the U.S. does.

The Canadian government requires travelers to quarantine for 14 days upon entering the country and has taken enforcement action against travelers who don't comply to quarantine rules.

"These rigorous quarantine measures are among some of the strongest in the world," a statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada said. "Under 2 percentof all cases reported in Canada are from those who traveled outside of Canada."

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The land border between the U.S. and Canada has been closed to non-essential travel since March. Non-essential air and water travel between the countries is allowed as long as quarantine rules are adhered to when traveling to Canada.

Canada's federal government swiftly suspended all flights from the U.K. on Dec. 20 until Jan. 6. Ontario leaders are pressing for funding from the federal government to administer COVID-19 tests at airports. The U.S. is requiring all travelers from the U.K. to test negative for the coronavirus within 72 hours of their departure.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services hasn't released an official statement on the new coronavirus variant and could not be reached for comment Monday.

Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: oabdelbaqui@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New coronavirus strain from the UK appears in Canada, a few hours away from Detroit

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