This is our daily update on the latest news from COVID-19 for Monday, January 18, 2021. Previous daily updates can be found here, and the updated statistics are here.
New York is in Reopening phase 4 now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Citing rising hospitalization rates, Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended indoor dining in New York from December 14th. After being turn off for several weeks, public schools in NYC partially reopened on December 7 for students in grades 3 to 5, with students with special needs returning on December 10th. Certain parts of Staten Island remain under a zoned shutdown.
Get answers to your questions can have with our series “Ask an epidemiologist”, or learn more about NYC COVID-19 test options with our explainer. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here are the latest:
Another new variant of the coronavirus is appearing more frequently across California, alarming some health officials as the state continues to face an attack of new cases and hospitalizations.
The strain, known as L452R, is distinct from the highly transmissible variant found for the first time in the UK. Authorities said on Sunday that they had identified the L452R variant in a dozen counties and connected it to significant outbreaks in Santa Clara County, reports the Los Angeles Times.
“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 undergo mutation and adaptation, and we cannot let our guard down.”
The California Department of Health said it is not clear whether the new strain is significantly more contagious or is being identified more due to laboratory techniques. Several variants of the virus were documented during the pandemic.
Still, a recent sequencing effort at the University of California, San Francisco, found that the variant was present in a quarter of its samples, up from 3.8% last month, according to the NY Times.
On Saturday, Los Angeles also reported its first confirmed case of the variant found first in the United Kingdom, which proved to be more contagious, though not more deadly.
In a report published on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the UK variant could become the dominant strain in the United States in March.