On this June 30, 2020, file picture, Gov. Gavin Newsom removes his face masks earlier than giving an replace throughout a go to to Pittsburg, Calif
On this June 30, 2020, file picture, Gov. Gavin Newsom removes his face masks earlier than giving an replace throughout a go to to Pittsburg, Calif.
Wealthy Pedroncelli | AP
California well being officers have recognized the state’s first case of a brand new and extra infectious pressure of Covid-19 that was initially found in the UK.
The affected person is a 30-year-old man in San Diego County who started displaying signs on Sunday, county officers confirmed Wednesday.
“I do not assume that the Californians ought to really feel that that is one thing odd. That is one thing that is anticipated,” White Home coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned Wednesday throughout a stay Q&A session with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Fauci mentioned different states will doubtless quickly determine their very own instances of the brand new pressure.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher mentioned the affected person was examined for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning. As a result of he hadn’t traveled, state officers consider there are different instances within the county with the brand new pressure, Fletcher mentioned at a information briefing after Newsom disclosed the case.
Fletcher urged residents to comply with the general public well being orders over the following few days to forestall additional stress on the county’s hospitals, that are seeing “super pressure” from an onslaught of Covid-19 sufferers.
On Tuesday, Colorado well being officers confirmed the nation’s first case of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. Throughout a information briefing Wednesday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis mentioned the state was investigating a possible second case of the brand new pressure.
Officers from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention mentioned earlier Wednesday that the brand new pressure may add stress to the nation’s hospitals, that are already overwhelmed with Covid-19 sufferers.
Dr. Henry Walke, the company’s Covid incident supervisor, mentioned the brand new variant seems to unfold “extra simply and shortly than different strains,” but it surely doesn’t appear to make folks extra sick or enhance their danger of demise.
One significantly regarding side of the case in Colorado was that the affected person hadn’t been touring, “suggesting this variant has been transmitted from individual to individual in the US,” Walke informed reporters on a convention name.
Some excellent news: The brand new variant does not seem to make the vaccines much less efficient and it additionally does not seem to make it more durable to diagnose with present checks, Fauci informed Newsom. The U.Ok. has additionally discovered that individuals who had been already contaminated with earlier strains of Covid-19 do not appear to get reinfected with this new variant.
What researchers nonetheless want to find out is whether or not the brand new pressure could be proof against remedy with monoclonal antibodies, which have been profitable in serving to some sufferers get well from the illness, Fauci mentioned. In contrast to vaccines, which triggers an immune response that assaults totally different elements of the virus, monoclonal antibodies assault a really particular part, the nation’s main infectious illness skilled mentioned.
Monoclonal antibodies have proven promising advantages if the virus is caught early sufficient. President Donald Trump credited Regeneron’s remedy for making him really feel higher “instantly” when he was contaminated and finally hospitalized with Covid-19 in early October.
“So that is what we learn about it now, however we’re following this extraordinarily fastidiously,” Fauci mentioned, including that they are inspecting the pressure on the Nationwide Institute of Well being and a lot of laboratories all through the nation.
— CNBC’s Will Feuer and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.