A San Diego woman in her late 40s is the first local case of the COVID-19 variant identified for the first time in Brazil, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.
The woman’s sample was collected on March 5 and underwent genome sequencing, which is not available until 2 to 4 weeks after the test.
The woman had not been vaccinated, was not hospitalized, and because she has no known travel history, it is believed that she was exposed to someone in the community. The investigation of the case identified six close contacts outside the woman’s home.
A second case of P.1 or Brazilian variant was detected locally, but the person, who had also not been vaccinated, is not a resident of San Diego County. Four cases of the coronavirus P.1 variant were reported in California as of March 19.
There is some evidence that P.1 and other new variants are more easily disseminated, but the P.1 variant is not believed to cause more serious illness or increase the risk of death.
“San diegans should not be alarmed. The COVID-19 vaccines currently available offer some protection against most variants, ”said Wilma Wooten, MD, MPH, county public health officer. “People should continue to take preventive measures that work against all variants of the new coronavirus.”
San Diegans must do the following now more than ever:
- Wear a mask
- Beware of distance from others
- Wash the hands
- When it’s your turn, get vaccinated
As of March 23, a total of 336 cases of B.1.1.7, known as the UK variant, have been identified in the region. No case of the variant first identified in South Africa has been reported in the region.
A report on the COVID-19 variants is published every Wednesday at www.coronavirus-sd.com.
Vaccination progress:
- Almost 1.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to the region and more than 1.5 million have been registered as administered. This number includes county residents and those who work in San Diego County.
- Of those vaccinated to date, more than 510,000 county residents, or 19% of San Diegans 16 and older, are fully immunized.
- Overall, nearly 840,000 county residents received at least one injection of the two-dose vaccines. That is 31.2% of those eligible.
- Those who received the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine are being added to the total of fully vaccinated San Diegans.
- The difference between the doses administered and those used in a vaccination represents approximately what is expected to be administered in the next seven days and the doses yet to be entered into the registration system.
- More information on vaccine distribution can be found on the county’s vaccination panel. For details on currently eligible groups and vaccination opportunities, visit www.vaccinationsuperstation.com.
State metrics:
- The rate of cases adjusted and calculated by the state of San Diego County is currently 5.5 cases per 100,000 residents. The county is at the red level.
- Currently, the percentage of positivity of the test is 2.4%, placing the County at Level 3 or at Orange Level.
- The county’s health equity metric, which analyzes the test’s positivity for areas with the lowest health conditions, is 3.4% and is also at Orange Level or Level 3.
- While two of the three metrics qualify the county for Orange or Level 3, the state assigns counties to the most restrictive level.
- The California Department of Public Health evaluates counties weekly. The next report is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30.
Community configuration outbreaks:
- Five new community outbreaks were confirmed on March 23. Two in commercial settings, one in a religious setting, one in a restaurant / bar and one in a retail setting.
- In the last seven days (March 15 to March 21), 15 community outbreaks have been confirmed.
- The number of outbreaks in the community remains above the trigger of seven or more in seven days.
- An outbreak in a community setting is defined as three or more cases of COVID-19 in an environment and in people from different households in the last 14 days.
Test:
- 11,282 exams were notified to the county on March 23, and the percentage of new positive cases was 2%.
- The 14-day moving average percentage of positive cases is 2.7%. The target is less than 8.0%.
- The daily average of 7-day tests is 11,203.
ICU cases, hospitalizations and admissions:
- 257 COVID-19 cases were reported to the county on March 23. The total for the region is now 268,417.
- 14,017 or 5.2% of all cases required hospitalization.
- 1,630 or 0.6% of all cases and 11.6% of hospitalized cases had to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
Deaths:
- 11 new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on March 23. The total for the region is 3,509.
- Six women and five men died between January 23 and March 22. New deaths from COVID-19 were reported on March 20.
- Of the people who died, five were 80 years old or more, four were 70 years old, one was 60 years old and one was 50 years old.
- All had underlying medical conditions.
More information:
The most detailed data summaries found in the County coronavirus-sd.com website are updated around 5pm daily.