Since the pandemic took hold, the world has learned largely what to expect from the coronavirus—but now the rulebook is being frantically rewritten by a fast-spreading new strain.
I think this "New Strain" in England is an over-hyped fearmongering media creation. Whether or not it is done purposefully to cause panic & push an agenda (either direction), done neutrally to just get clicks and sell newspapers, or done naively because they do not understand the science/context & just recited what an expert told them, can be left to you to interpret and decide based on your opinion. But throughout COVID, no one can deny that communication on facts and information (via media and other avenues) has been inconsistent, unreliable, polarized, and often wrong. So taking anything, at this point, on face value is prone to be a mistake.
Early on in COVID, May and earlier, there were already some 49 strains and mutations that were being tracked around the world. The US had 2 different strains that infected the country at the same time in the first wave in March. The "Chinese" strain that infected Seattle and spread from there, mostly on the west coast. And the "Italy" strain that infected NYC and spread from there. Eventually the NYC spread through most of the US and faster. If you mapped the strains, the "Italy-NYC strain" was everywhere, east coast, sout (FL & LA), midwest, mountains (CO & AZ) - almost everywehre. The "China-Seattle" strain, despite arriving to the US much earlier, was mostly only in WA, OR, & CA. There was even an GIF animation of how the different strains moved, spread, and overtook each other.
There has been alot of talk of different strains over the past several months. If in May there were 49 strains, by now I'm sure there are several hundred. There was a "Brazil Strain" too at one point that people were watching closely. But these discussions have been mostly among viral scientists & researcher circles (twitter & literature). To hear of a "New Strain from England" really could mean absolutely nothing. Something for researchers to watch, but how the media has treated it is irresponsible. There is no evidence it is more dangerous and deadly. The media isn't even making those claims. They are only saying it's "possibly more contagious", but the only evidence the media have of it being more contagious is that it's has a wide foothold in England during this recent surge. But that does not mean it's more contagious or more dangerous!
I'm sure each and every "surge" in different parts of the country and at different times were "different strains." Viruses mutate very frequently and quickly. The NYC surge strain in March is a totally different strain than say the most recent surge in ND, SD, MN, WI, IL in October.
Also, when examining the various surges, it can be misleading looking at too large of a geographic region. Areas that saw no COVID earlier in the year are now getting COVID and vice versa. And likely different starins occured at these different times. There have been very interesting cases on localized viral spread comparing provinces in Germany and Switzerland, islands in Denmark, and even within provinces that were hit in Feb vs now in Italy. So, possibly this New English Strain is not more containgous, but rather more wide spread, covering more of the country & many more smaller cities. The first surge in England was mostly in London. Explanations for more widespread could be: seasonal (now fall/winter), relaxation of lockdowns after 1st surged subsided, individuals being more lax in taking precautions after 12mos of rule following, virus characteristics not related to contagiousness or deadliness (say it lasts longer in cold vs warm temperatures), or just due to spreads different at different times.
In short, viruses mutate frequently and rapidly. Every surge probably is a different strain. It is important to monitor these strains to catch mutations that make the virus worse & more deadly, reserved for the scientists and researchers who understand it better. However, the simplest explanation is that the media heard of scientists talk about a new strain in England and ran with the story, exaggerating and misunderstanding the meaning.
Also, there is little constructive use spreading panic (see the headlines) of a new English Strain (I'm not saying they should suppress the news). How are the public health interventions going to change at his point? Is anything different being done besides lockdowns and masks? I haven't heard of any new ideas.
I would not let fear of new English Strain get to you. Take take appropriate precautions you feel applies to you. Risk is a personal judgement with many variables unique to each person.
(I am open to changing my opinion on the English Strain should new information about come to light.)