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Another coronavirus variant linked to growing share of cases, several large outbreaks, in California - The Washington Post

Another coronavirus variant linked to growing share of cases, several large outbreaks, in California - The Washington Post

Another coronavirus variant linked to growing share of cases, several large outbreaks, in California - The Washington Post
Jan 18, 2021 2 mins, 0 secs

A coronavirus variant first identified in Denmark has ripped through Northern California — including outbreaks at nursing homes, jails and a hospital in the San Jose area — prompting state and local officials to investigate whether it may be more transmissible.

California officials disclosed the rise of the variant Sunday night after genetic monitoring linked it to a fast-growing share of new cases, as well as to the outbreaks in Santa Clara county, which includes San Jose.

This rising variant is distinct from the highly contagious British mutation, which has also been found in California, and which federal health officials project could become the dominant strain in the United States by March based on its proven higher transmissibility.

Experts stress they need to look more closely at the circumstances of the northern California outbreaks, as well as at the latest variant — this one, known as L452R — before declaring it more contagious or more dangerous than the virus already broadly circulating.

Officials urged people to follow public health guidelines to minimize the risk of contracting the variant as new daily cases in the hard-hit state plateau at more than 38,000, while deaths average more than 515 daily.

Genetic sequencing of viruses is still limited in the United States, preventing health officials from having a real-time picture of all the strains of coronavirus spreading across the country and their prevalence.

The L452R strain in California raised alarms because it is associated with several large outbreaks in Santa Clara County, including one at a hospital that infected at least 90 people and killed one staff member.

Sara Cody, Santa Clara’s top public health official, described that episode as a “very unusual outbreak with a lot of illnesses and it seemed to spread quite fast.” The county is working with state health officials and the CDC to investigate what happened, she said.

County officials on Monday disclosed other places where the variant had been found as a result of aggressive genetic sequencing, “including cases associated with the Kaiser outbreak, skilled nursing facility outbreaks, cases in jails and shelters, and specimens from testing sites in the community,” according to a statement.

Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University, said the rising prevalence of the variant shows the urgent need for more genetic sequencing in the United States and for greater compliance with public health measures such as wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

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