California’s first case of the Brazilian COVID-19 variant found in San Bernardino County

The first California case of a COVID-19 variant first discovered in Brazil earlier this year was discovered in San Bernardino over the weekend, provincial officials said.

The California Department of Public Health notified the county of the matter on Saturday after it was discovered in a positive test sample collected March 2, San Bernardino County 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 been vaccinated – is isolating at home, according to officials.

“We are taking immediate and aggressive action to contact spores and control the virus, and are working with the CDPH to expand full genomic sequencing to identify more cases,” said County Health Officer Dr. Michael S. Sequeira. “Slowing the spread of the disease and minimizing the spread of all variants is done through contact tracking, strategic quarantine with masking and social distancing, and especially vaccination.”

The P.1 “Brazilian” variant is believed to be more contagious than the most common strain of the virus.