LOS ANGELES – Researchers at Stanford University said on Saturday that they had found at least one case of a new coronavirus variant that was first detected in India in Northern California.
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According to Lisa Kim, Stanford Health Care spokeswoman, the new variant has two mutations, including one found in the California tribe, in the prickly protein to which the virus clings. The variant was found in a patient from the San Francisco Bay Area by the virology clinical laboratory.
“We believe this is the first case described with this variant in the United States,” she said in an email.
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FOLLOWING
The variant was first detected by Indian health officials last month, reports The Associated Press. Cases in India have been declining in the country since September, but have started to creep up again through the winter. According to the AP, more than 47,000 new infections were detected within 24 hours in March, including 275 deaths.
Covid-19 rates declined in California this spring after a deadly winter hurricane that began in late November and only softened after the new year. The decline in cases has allowed some of the provinces with the largest populations, including Los Angeles, to begin taking up the restrictions and gradually reopening the economy.
According to the Department of Health, California has recorded more cases of coronavirus than any other state in the country, with more than 3.5 million infections and at least 58,000 deaths.
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