A San Diego man who cannot travel outside the county has tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first identified in the UK, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.
The man was tested on Dec. 29 after two days of symptoms, and the results showed a characteristic pattern indicating it could be the new British strain. The specimen was immediately sent to Scripps Research and whole genome sequencing on December 30 determined it to be the British variant, also known as B.1.1.7.
The patient is not in hospital and is currently isolated. The County’s case investigation has identified family contacts who are being quarantined and tested for the new coronavirus. The man had little interaction with people outside his household while he was potentially contagious.
“The B.1.1.7 strain is here, and San Diegans can protect themselves from it by doing the same things they have been asked to do since the pandemic started,” said Eric McDonald, MD, MPH, medical director of the County Epidemiology and immunization services. “Everyone should stay at home and avoid all gatherings during the New Year holidays. The best way to celebrate is to make sure everyone stays healthy in 2021. “
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the British strain is one of many COVID-19 variants identified around the world.
There is some evidence that the new strains spread more easily, but these variants are not believed to cause more serious illness or increase the risk of death.
It is also currently believed that the vaccines currently available will provide protection against newly emerging variants. Scientists continue to study the new strains of the new coronavirus to determine their possible impact.
Since the new strain has a higher rate of transmission, it can lead to an increase in the number of cases in the region. On New Year’s Eve tomorrow, county health officials say San Diegans is now more than ever doing the following:
- Wash your hands
- Wear a mask
- Keep your distance from others and only leave your household for essential activities
- If you are sick, get tested and then stay home and isolate yourself
ICU Capacity and Stay Home Order:
- Current intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability for the Southern California region is now 0.0% and will be updated daily by the state.
- The Regional Stay Home Order is in effect prohibiting gatherings of any size with people from other households and adding restrictions for multiple industries.
- The order will last until ICU availability of the region is 15% or more.
Outbreaks in the community:
- On December 29, 11 new outbreaks were confirmed in the community: four in corporate settings, four in daycare / preschool / daycare, one in a TK-12 school environment, one in a food / beverage processing environment and one in a hotel / resort / spa setting.
- In the past seven days (December 23 to December 29), 55 outbreaks were confirmed in the community.
- The number of outbreaks in the community remains above the trigger of seven or more in seven days.
- A community outbreak is defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in an environment and in people from different households in the past 14 days.
To test:
- On December 29, 23,957 tests were reported to the County, and the percentage of new laboratory-confirmed cases was 10%.
- The moving average percentage of positive cases over 14 days is 10.8%. Target is less than 8.0%.
- The 7-day, daily average of tests is 21,645.
- People at higher risk for COVID-19 who are with or without symptoms should be tested. People with symptoms should be tested. Healthcare and essential workers should also be tested, as well as people who have been in close contact with a positive case or live in communities that are heavily affected. Those who have recently returned from travel, or who have attended vacation gatherings, are also urged to get tested.
Cases:
- 2,448 new cases were reported to the County on Dec. 29. The total of the region is now 152,512.
- Hospitalization was required in 5,826 or 3.8% of all cases.
- 1,213 or 0.8% of all cases and 20.8% of hospitalized cases had to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
Deaths:
- On December 29, 37 new COVID-19 deaths were reported to the County. The region’s total is now 1,472.
- 21 men and 16 women died between December 17 and December 28, and their ages ranged from mid-50s to early 100s.
- 30 had underlying medical conditions and seven had a medical history pending.
More information:
The more detailed data summaries on the county website coronavirus-sd.com are updated daily at around 5:00 PM.