The highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant originally identified in the United Kingdom is now the most common strain causing the New Crown outbreak in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Varensky said Wednesday (April 7).
This variant has shown to be more contagious and is spreading among younger Americans, Walensky said at a press conference with the White House New Crown outbreak response team. That has fueled an increase in cases in the U.S. since recent weeks, she said.
CDC Director Varensky said the latest data show the average daily number of new infections in the U.S. over seven days rose to 62,878, up 2.3 percent from the previous seven-day period. She added that there have been reports of clusters of infections associated with day care centers and youth sports activities across the United States.
Daily hospitalizations have also risen about 2.7 percent over the past week. Valensky said they are seeing an increasing number of younger adults in their 30s and 40s being hospitalized for serious illnesses.
While the U.S. vaccinates an average of 3 million Americans daily, she said, that encouraging news is overshadowed by the increase in cases and the spread of the virus.
She said the U.S. needs to continue to strengthen its vaccination programs, but communities also need to put in their own efforts.
Varensky encouraged communities to consider making adjustments to meet their own unique needs and circumstances. She said places where significant or high community transmission is occurring should consider not starting indoor youth sports or other activities where social distances of at least six feet cannot be maintained, and large events should be postponed.
Her comments come after the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers had 38,000 fans on hand for their home opener this week.
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