The end of the year brought with it a mutated strain of COVID-19 that recently appeared in the United Kingdom and may be the cause of a current increase in coronavirus cases in California.
This weekend, an impressive 225,818 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States, with worrying peaks specifically on the west coast. In Los Angeles, the average number of daily cases was recorded at almost 14,000 per day in the most recent count.
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The outbreak of infections was so explosive that authorities in Los Angeles are now testing samples of the virus on new patients to see if they can find evidence of the new strain COVID-19 that, according to UK scientists, could be more than 70% transmissible.
From the Los Angeles Times:
LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that a public health laboratory has started doing gene sequencing to test virus samples collected in LA County, but it will take about a week to complete the process.
COVID-19 is getting out of control in Los Angeles County and other parts of California, overloading hospitals and killing more people every day. On Thursday, LA County had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a single day: 140.
The spread has been so rapid since Thanksgiving, when many families defied public health guidelines and gathered in large groups, that some wonder if anything about the virus has changed. Authorities believe the increase was exacerbated by holiday meetings, but are also concerned about other factors, including people going out to shop.
The CDC says that as of Monday, people traveling from the UK to the U.S. will have to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test before they are allowed to board the flights. But due to the continuous travel that many people have taken during the pandemic, it is not difficult to imagine that the new strain may have already been brought to the American coasts across the Atlantic.
UK scientists say there is no evidence that the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it cannot be treated by the coronavirus vaccines that are now in circulation.
However, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly told the LA Times that the strain could infect more people exposed to it.
“The new mutated COVID virus seems to bind a little stronger, a little more easily and enter the human body cell more easily than our current COVID virus that we have here mainly in California and the United States,” he said.
Countries in Europe have also instituted restrictions against UK travelers after officials revealed news of the new mutant strain last week, saying it may be responsible for 60% of new COVID-19 infections in Britain.