In a press conference on Friday afternoon, officials from the Fresno County Department of Public Health said they had been informed by the state that three people have tested positive for the British coronavirus variant, or “B.1.1.7” as it is officially called.
“In many ways, it’s like we’re back in the first few months of the pandemic,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County Health Officer.
Health department contact tracers have already reached out to all the people infected with the variant and are working to isolate people they may have come into contact with.
B.1.1.7 is one of the so-called “variants of care” and was found to be 40 to 80 percent more transferable. It was first discovered in the United Kingdom, where it spread rapidly and caused a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.
“We don’t know if this is the dominant strain,” said Dr. Vohra. “That’s certainly the concern – if this becomes a dominant species, it will actually cause a real setback in terms of our ability to care for people.”
Health officials said that this coronavirus variant not only spreads more easily than others, but is also more deadly. They recognized that the three cases are probably “just the tip of the iceberg” and that there are likely many more cases of this variant of species causing COVID cases in Fresno County.
Dr. Vohra said the number of cases was declining, but he said they are now starting to level off, which he partly blames on the variants.
Health officials said vaccinations will help prevent further spread, but they are also asking residents to continue to take precautions.
Vohra said, “Don’t let your guard down. We’re still in the ‘purple’ or the widespread community layer here in Fresno County compared to the rest of the state. So we still just have a lot of infections that are being reported every day. . “
It is still being investigated how effective each of the vaccines is against the British variant, but experts believe they all help protect people from becoming extremely ill.
County health officials say more than 320,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Fresno County to date and 39,000 more doses will arrive next week.
Copyright © 2021 KFSN-TV. All rights reserved.