The California Department of Public Health warned the country on Saturday after it was detected in a positive test sample collected on March 2, San Bernardino Public Information Officer David Wert said in a statement.
Health officials are now investigating how the resident, a man in his 40s, may have been exposed to the variant. The man – who has not yet been vaccinated – is self-isolating at home, according to officials.
“We are taking immediate and aggressive steps to detect and contain the virus and are working with the CDPH to expand the entire genomic sequence to identify more cases,” said Dr. Michael S. Sequeira, provincial health officer, said. “Delaying the spread of the disease and reducing the spread of all variants is feasible with contact detection, strategic quarantine with masking and social distance, and most importantly vaccination.”
The P.1 “Brazilian” variant is thought to be more contagious than the most common strain of the virus.
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