Re-analysis of more than two million coronavirus tests in the United States suggests that the mutation of the virus currently spreading like wildfire through Britain may have arrived in the U.S. several months ago already, even though the first cases of the mutant strain were only confirmed in recent days (in the states of Colorado, California, and now Florida).
The Guardian reports that genome sequencing is underway to ascertain whether this is actually the case, but an increase detected in "S gene dropout" associated with the mutation has already been detected in U.S. samples dating back to early October.
When the first reports of the mutation emerged, the U.S. moved quickly to require all those entering the country from the UK to present a negative coronavirus test result; many other countries have gone further, and have entirely barred entry to travelers from the UK.
Meanwhile, the presence of the mutant strain, reportedly tens of times more contagious than the previous dominant strain (although this has yet to be conclusively proven), has been detected in at least 17 areas across the globe, including South Korea, Spain, Australia, and Canada. Despite its increased rate of transmission, however, the new strain does not appear to be more deadly.