Health officials in Oregon discovered this weekend the new variant of COVID-19 that is more contagious is officially in the Pacific Northwest, which is the last thing health experts wanted to see.
The University of Portland explained Saturday that a staffer who tested positive had been in quarantine since Monday, when they originally tested positive for the coronavirus. The university only found out they were positive with the new, more contagious strain on Friday night.
While the new strain isn’t expected to be more deadly, it does spread faster.
CBS 2 News reports, officials anticipate that this new variant is already in Idaho. The vaccine is expected to prevent this new variant, but with issues getting the doses out, experts say people should increase their safety measures.
