The UK variant of SARS-CoV-2, a highly-contagious strain of the coronavirus, has been found in Essex County, according to the Essex County Health Department, which released the following statement on its Facebook page last night:
The presence of the more contagious variant in the county could affect Governor Cuomo’s order permitting higher risk sports like ice hockey to play games beginning on February 1. In that order, the Governor delegated authority to permit such activities to local health departments and instructed them to consider the presence of more transmissible variants in the area as the first factor to weigh when making their decisions. The relevant part of the Governor’s order on higher risk sports is:
The Mirror will follow this story closely.