Los Angeles as viewed from the Hollywood Hills (Photo – Diliff)
Los Angeles County Health Department confirmed the first case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the United Kingdom (U.K.), in an individual who recently spent time in the County.
By News Desk
The individual is a male who traveled to Oregon, where he is currently isolating. The variant was confirmed by Quest Laboratories in Washington state.
Although this is the first confirmed case of the U.K. variant in Los Angeles County, the Health Department believes that it’s already spreading in the community as it continues to test samples.
Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic. Individuals infected with the U.K. variant will test positive for COVID-19 with current SARS-CoV-2 tests. However, to distinguish the variant strain from the traditional strain, laboratories can perform look for certain gene patterns and report to the local public health department for confirmation.
U.K. Variant B.1.1.7
In the U.K., the variant B.1.1.7 emerged with an unusually large number of mutations. The variant spreads more easily and quickly than other variants. Currently, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness or increased risk of death. This variant was first detected in September 2020 and is now highly prevalent in London and Southeast England. It has since been detected in numerous countries around the world, including the United States and Canada. The Centers for Disease Control conducts routine analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data to support public health response. The DPH lab is also regularly analyzing specimens for variants, including the U.K. variant, and, to date, has not identified other cases linked to this specific variant.
A press release from the County’s Health Department stated the following:
Presence of the U.K. variant in Los Angeles County means virus transmission can happen more easily and residents must more diligently follow the safety measures put in place to prevent additional cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. This includes wearing a face covering properly over your nose and mouth, physically distancing, and not gathering with people from outside your household. With community transmission at an all-time high, staying home as much as possible is the best protection. The same strategies that we’ve been using to help slow COVID-19 will only be effective in slowing spread of the U.K. variant strain of COVID-19 if they are used by everyone all of the time.
On Saturday, Jan. 16, Public Health has confirmed 253 new deaths and 14,669 new cases of confirmed COVID-19. To date, Public Health has identified 1,003,923 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 13,741 deaths.
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