It’ll soon be easier to see how many of Indiana’s coronavirus cases can be traced back to one of the COVID-19 variants. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box announced Wednesday that a new feature will be added to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard later this week.
It’ll include the total number of variant cases identified, a breakdown by variant type, and the percentage of samples testing positive for a variant. “Keep in mind that we are only able to sequence a small percentage of the thousands of samples that are submitted each week,” Box cautioned, “so this part of the dashboard will only show the prevalence of variants among a small sample.”
As of Wednesday, almost 1,100 variant cases have been confirmed in Indiana. More than 800 of those are the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the U.K. Thirty-seven are the variant first seen in Brazil, six are the variant originally identified in South Africa, and more than 200 involved variants first detected in California.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Dr. Box said the high prevalence of B.1.1.7 in Michigan has likely contributed to the increase in yellow and orange counties in Northern Indiana. “Hoosiers, COVID is still here, and it is not going away any time soon,” she said. “Please stay vigilant. Please don’t let your guard down.”
The B.1.1.7 variant is more contagious, and Box says studies are now showing that it’s also more severe.
