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‘Super Covid’ now in California as San Diego man in 30s with NO travel history has highly contagious UK mutant strain
THE "super-Covid" strain first detected in the UK has been discovered in California - a day after the highly contagious variant was confirmed in the Colorado National Guard.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced the infectious mutant strain had made its way to the Golden State, fueling fears of a rapid spread across the US.
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Newsom was speaking to Dr Anthony Fauci at a when he revealed the news.
He said: "Just an hour or so ago we were informed that this new variant - this new strain that we have identified obviously from the UK and some other parts of the globe identified in Colorado yesterday - has been identified here in the state of California."
The case was discovered in the San Diego area, county officials confirmed in a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
The patient is a man in his thirties with no travel history - raising fears of more cases in the state.
He began developing symptoms on Sunday and it was confirmed in the early hours of Wednesday that he had the UK Covid strain, San Diego County supervisor Nathan Fletcher said.
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Dr Fauci said the case discovery didn't come as a surprise.
The infectious disease expert said: "We likely will be seeing reports from other states.
"Colorado was the first place to do that and I think we will start seeing it... through other countries intermittently."
As the contagious virus made its way to America, the nation saw its highest daily death toll since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to , at least 3,725 Americans passed away from Covid on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, the two National Guards that are feared to be the first cases had been working at a nursing home in Colorado.
It was revealed yesterday that a case of the highly contagious "mutant" strain, which is rapidly spreading in the UK, had been detected in Colorado.
And today, Emily Travanty, the scientific director at Colorado Dept of Public Health and Environment, said their lab is probing a possible second case.
Both men are National Guard members who are currently based at The Good Samaritan assisted living facility in Simla, 45 miles outside of Denver.
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The news comes as experts warned t if the mutant strain continues to spread.
As of Wednesday, more than 340,004 people have died from the across the US, John Hopkins University revealed.
The US has recorded at least 19,551,716 confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
On Tuesday alone, an additional 247,000 new cases were reported.
Colorado state epidemiologist Rachel Herlihy said neither of the two National Guard members traveled internationally in recent weeks.
She pointed out that the two cases were either infected at the nursing home or elsewhere.
Herlihy also pointed out public health officials in the state are currently running a contact trace for the two national guard members.
Investigations are currently underway at the nursing home, while all confirmed contacts will be ordered to quarantine.
County health director Dwayne Smith told CNN that neither of the men are from Elbert County, and they are isolating outside the county.
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Smith also pointed out that there is "no indication at this point" that this potential new cluster had broken out of the facility and into the larger community.
It is not yet clear if there are any further cases in the nursing home facility.
The "two individuals were working at the facility in non-clinical roles and were working at the facility due to staffing shortages from a prior Covid-19 outbreak at the facility, so they were not regular staff," Smith continued.
He added: "The state health department has deployed a rapid response team to the assisted living facility in Simla to test residents and staff."
The news comes after Governor Jared Polis confirmed on Tuesday that the first case of the variant was found in a man, believed to be in his 20s.
Elbert County is a mainly rural area of rolling plains at the far edge of the Denver metro area that includes a portion of Interstate 70, the state’s main east-west highway.
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The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed the virus variant, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware of Colorado's report of the first U.S. case associated with the U.K. variant of Covid-19," CDC spokesperson Belsie González said in an email.
"In addition to the reported case in Colorado, we expect that there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected in the coming days," said González.
Praising the state's response to the first case, Jill Hunsaker Ryan of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said: "The fact that Colorado has detected this variant first in the nation is a testament to the sophistication of Colorado's response and the talent of CDPHE's scientist and lab operations."
CNN also quoted Smith as saying The Good Samaritan Society facility - home to around 25 residents - had a Covid-19 outbreak during the past two and a half weeks.
At least two people - a 93-year-old man and an 88-year-old woman - died, while a third death is being investigated, he said.
An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since warned hospitals may soon feel the added stress from the new Covid strain, reported on Wednesday.
Dr Henry Walk told the news outlet: "Because the variants spread more rapidly, they could lead to more cases and put even more strain on our already heavily burdened health-care systems."
The new strain of Covid discovered in the UK has led to a severe tightening up of lockdown restrictions.
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