New COVID strain from China that led to massive spike in hospitalizations has spread to the US including NYC

A new, highly infectious COVID-19 strain that has left to a spike in hospitalizations in China has now been detected in the US, including cases in New York City, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The new NB.1.81 variant was first detected in the US in late March and early April among international travelers arriving at airports in California, Washington State, Virginia and New York City, with additional cases reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii.The CDC has said there are too few cases in the US to be properly tracked in the agency’s variant estimates, but experts are warning that the virus’ run in China shows it spreads more quickly than other dominant strains of the respiratory infection.Experts have been closely tracking the NB.1.8.1 variant after it became the dominant strain in China this year, with cases surging all across Asia.Hong Kong authorities say COVID-19 cases have spiked to the worst levels in at least a year after officials announced a “significant increase” in emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the last month due to the variant.That included 81 severe cases in the past four weeks, including 30 deaths.

The vast majority of the cases were in adults 65 and up.In mainland China, the portion of patients going to the ER with COVID has more than doubled in the last month — from 7.5% to more than 16%, public health authorities said.The portion of people in the hospital for COVID in China also doubled, to more than 6%, according to the state-run China Daily.

Despite the stats, the Beijing-controlled government in Hong Kong downplayed the variant, saying it does not appear to be more dangerous than previous variants.“What they’re seeing in China, Hong Kong and some other areas where this variant has really surged, is an increase in hospitalization,” Dr.

Amy Edwards, a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University’s medical school, told CBS News.The CDC’s airport tests revealed the e...