Coronavirus Variants Account For 51% Of Cases In NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Two coronavirus variants now account for more than half the new cases in New York City, health officials said.

The new, apparently-homegrown New York City variant was found in 39 percent of recent samples tested by the city's pandemic response lab, said Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner.

The so-called UK variant accounted for 12 percent of samples, Chokshi said.

"Together these new variants account for 51 percent of all cases that we have in the city right now,” Jay Varma, the city's senior health adviser, said.

The announcement outlining the latest analysis on variants came amid Mayor Bill de Blasio's daily briefing Tuesday.

De Blasio, while acknowledging signs the two variants can spread more easily, emphasized research shows long-accepted measures — mask wearing, social distancing, frequent testing — to stop the coronavirus's spread are effective against the variants.

"Variants aren’t new concept, they’re part of the reality,” he said.

The New York City variant — dubbed B.1.526 — has quickly spread across the city since its recent discovery.

“The increasing prevalence suggests the B.1.526 variant is a more infectious variant,” Chokshi said.

But Varma noted that while it may be more infectious, preliminary research shows no signs the new variant causes more severe illness or reduces the effectiveness of vaccine.