Tuesday, May 11, 2021 | 6:45 p.m.
A Clark County resident has tested positive for the first known local case of the so-called Indian variant of COVID-19, the Southern Nevada Health District said today.
A woman in her 20s tested positive for the B.1.617.2 variant. She did not report any recent travel, was not hospitalized, and has not received the COVID-19 vaccine, the health district said. A contact investigation is being conducted.
The variant was detected locally in a sample tested by the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory.
“We have made tremendous steps in our efforts to stop the pandemic in our community,” said Dr. Fermin Leguen, district health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District, said in a statement. “However, the identification of another COVID-19 variant is a reminder that while many of us are fully vaccinated and enjoying activities with family and friends again, the pandemic isn’t over, and we must continue to take steps to protect ourselves and other people.”
The B.1.617.2 variant emerged in India in December. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers it a “variant of interest,” while the World Health Organization considers it a more severe “variant of concern.”
Variants have been circulating throughout the pandemic. Variants of interest have the potential to be more transmissible and more resistant to treatment and the current vaccines. The variants are monitored and reclassified if they become variants of concern.
As of Tuesday, the following variants have been detected in Clark County: B.1.1.7, or the U.K. variant, (242 cases); five cases of B.1351, or the South African variant (five cases); B.1.429, one of the California variants (five cases); and P.1, or the Brazilian variant (28 cases).
