The first case of the so-called “South African” COVID variant has been detected in a Connecticut patient whose “condition is improving.”

Governor Lamont’s office announced yesterday that this is the first known case of the variant in a Connecticut resident.

New York health officials reported the variant case this past weekend and worked with the Connecticut Department of Health to complete contact tracing for the Fairfield County resident between the ages of 60-70.  The patient has not reported any recent travel.

The B.1.351 strain was first discovered in the United States toward the end of January. Like the U.K. variant, the South African one is believed to be more contagious than the original COVID-19 virus, but not necessarily more severe.

Connecticut has reported 42 cases of the U.K. variant.

Lamont says seeing another variant in Connecticut reinforces the need for everyone to take all of the necessary precautions which have proven to be successful over the past year.  He added that the virus does not recognize state boundaries, and it certainly does not recognize international borders, which means the responsibility is on each person to do what they can to mitigate the spread.

Public health officials emphasized the need for continued mask-wearing, social distancing, isolating when sick and avoiding gathering with individuals who do not live in your household.

The CDC found studies suggesting current COVID vaccines recognize the variants, but studies are ongoing.