‘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.
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.
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.
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.
Some parts of England - including London - have been placed under "tier 4" stay-at-home orders, with Brits only allowed to leave their homes for "essential reasons.";
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Dozens of countries have banned flights from the UK.
The CDC recently confirmed passengers from London arriving in the US will must have had a negative coronavirus test, taken within the previous 72 hours.