The more contagious variant of the coronavirus was found in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom
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Newsom made the announcement at the start of a lively conversation with Anthony Fauci
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The development comes after officials in Colorado on Tuesday announced the first confirmed U.S. case of the new variant, first identified in the UK.
Colorado has announced one confirmed case and one possible case, meaning California may have the third known case in the US
Officials told a news conference later Wednesday that the case of the new variant in California is a man in his thirties in San Diego County with no travel history, which in turn indicates that the variant is spreading to some extent in the community. The man is not being admitted to hospital, and contact detection is underway. There was one domestic contact, officials said.
“Because there is no travel history, we believe this is not an isolated case in San Diego County,” said Nathan Fletcher, county supervisor.
Fauci said in the conversation with Newsom that the new case is not a surprise and that he expects additional cases of the new variant to be reported in other states soon.
“I’m not surprised you have a case and probably more cases in California, and we’ll probably see reports from other states,” he said.
Fauci gave the assurance that although the new variant appears to be more transmissible, it does not cause more serious diseases or evade the protection against vaccines.
“There is no indication at all that it increases virulence,” Fauci said as the National Institutes of Health and other laboratories carefully studied it for more information.
The announcement comes because Southern California has been hit particularly hard by the virus and hospitals there are under tremendous strain.
Health officials are urging people to take the same precautions against the new variant of the virus, including wearing masks, avoiding indoor encounters with other households, maintaining distance and washing hands.
Updated at 6:21 pm