New York City's Coronavirus Outbreak Dominated by Mutation

A new analysis published on October 22, 2020, shows that most of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was from within the New York community, as opposed to coming from people who had traveled. And, the COVID-19 pandemic started earlier in 2020 than previously thought in New York City and Long Island.

The investigators also found that more than 95% of New Yorkers with COVID-19 had a strain of the coronavirus with a mutation that may make it easier to transmit to others.

Adriana Heguy, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone, stated in a press release: "Based on these results, it is clear that we need a system of plentiful testing that provides rapid results."