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A new variant of the coronavirus is linked to a deadly outbreak of COVID-19 at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center. The outbreak resulted in at least 90 infections and one death.
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The variant called L452R was discovered in other countries and states last year.
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It is different from another more transmissible variant that was first discovered in the UK.
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A new variant of the coronavirus has been linked to several outbreaks in Santa Clara County, located southeast of San Francisco. One of the outbreaks caused at least 90 infections and one death at the Kaiser Permanente medical center in San Jose, public health officials said.
The variant known as L452R was discovered in other states and countries, but is now spreading rapidly across California. It is different from variant B.1.1.7, which was first found in the United Kingdom.
“The fact that this variant has been identified in several major outbreaks in our county is a red flag and should be investigated in more detail,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer, Dr. Sara Cody, in a statement. “This virus continues to mutate and adapt, and we cannot let our guard down.”
California is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local public health departments and laboratory sequencing partners to learn more about the variant and how it spreads, according to the joint statement from the California Department of Public Health , Santa Clara County and the University of California at San Francisco.
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“It is too early to know if this variant will spread more quickly than others, but it certainly reinforces the need for all Californians to wear masks and reduce contact with people outside their immediate homes to help slow the spread of the virus,” Dr Erica Pan, state epidemiologist for CDPH, said.
The statement said the variant was linked to the Kaiser Permanente outbreak, which resulted in the death of an employee. County health officials fined the medical center $ 43,000 for alleged delays in reporting cases, NBC reported. The installation denied the delay.
The cases are believed to be linked to an employee who used an inflatable costume at Christmas to cheer patients up. The fan of the “air-powered fantasy” may have spread droplets on 77 employees and 15 patients.
This variant has been found in several other counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, however, how prevalent it is across the state or country is not yet known, since genomic sequencing is not done equally across the state.
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