A man from San Diego without traveling outside the county gave positive results for the COVID-19 variant first identified in the United Kingdom, the County Agency for Health and Human Services announced today.
The man was tested on December 29 after two days of symptoms, and the results showed a characteristic pattern that indicated that it could be the new strain in the UK. The specimen was immediately sent to Scripps Research, and the sequencing of the entire genome determined on December 30 that it is the UK variant, also known as B.1.1.7.
The patient is not hospitalized and is currently isolated. The county case investigation identified household contacts that are in quarantine and tested for the new coronavirus. The man had few interactions with people outside his household, while he was potentially contagious.
“Strain B.1.1.7 is here, and San Diegans can protect itself against it by doing the same things that have been required of them since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Eric McDonald, MD, MPH, medical director of county epidemiology and the Pandemic Service. immunizations. “Everyone should stay home and avoid any gatherings during the New Year holidays. The best way to celebrate is to make sure that everyone stays healthy in 2021. ”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK strain is one of many COVID-19 variants that have been identified worldwide.
There is some evidence that new strains spread more easily, but it is not believed that these variants cause more severe disease or increase the risk of death.
At this time, it is also believed that the vaccines currently available will provide protection against new variants. Scientists continue to study new strains of the new coronavirus to determine their potential impact.
As the new strain has a higher transmission rate, this could lead to an increase in cases in the region. With New Year’s Eve tomorrow, county health officials say San Diegans will do the following more than ever:
- Wash your hands
- He’s wearing a mask
- Keep your distance from others and leave the household only for essential activities
- If you are sick, take the test, then stay home and isolate yourself
ICU capacity and order of stay at home:
- The current availability of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed for the Southern California region is now 0.0% and will be updated daily by the state.
- The Regional Stay Home Order is in force and prohibits meetings of any size with people from other households and adds restrictions for several sectors.
- The order will last until the ICU availability of the region meets or exceeds 15%.
Community outbreaks:
- 11 new community outbreaks were confirmed on December 29: four in business settings, four in childcare / preschool / childcare sets, one in TK-12 school, one in food / beverage processing and one in hotel / resort / spa setting.
- In the last seven days (December 23 to December 29), 55 community outbreaks have been confirmed.
- The number of Community outbreaks remains above the trigger of seven or more in seven days.
- A community outbreak is defined as three or more cases of COVID-19 in a setting and in people from different households in the last 14 days.
testing:
- 23,957 tests were reported to the county on December 29, and the percentage of new cases confirmed by the laboratory was 10%.
- The average percentage of 14 days of positive cases is 10.8%. The target is less than 8.0%.
- The daily average of 7 days of tests is 21,645.
- People at higher risk of COVID-19 who are with or without symptoms should be tested. People with any symptoms should be tested. Nurses and essential workers should also receive a test, as well as people who have had close contact with a positive case or live in communities that are severely affected. Those who have recently returned from travel or who have attended holiday meetings are also urged to be tested.
Cases:
- 2,448 new cases were reported to the county on December 29. The total for the region is now 152,512.
- 5,826 or 3.8% of all cases required hospitalization.
- 1,213 or 0.8% of all cases and 20.8% of hospitalized cases had to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
deaths:
- 37 new COVID-19 deaths were reported to the county on December 29. The total for the region is now 1,472.
- 21 men and 16 women died between December 17 and December 28, and their ages ranged from the mid-1950s to the early 1990s.
- 30 had underlying medical conditions and seven had a pending medical history.
More information:
More detailed summaries of the data found on the county website coronavirus-sd.com are updated daily around 17:00.