Health officials confirmed the first known case of a more contagious strain of the coronavirus in Yolo County on Monday (February 8), according to KCRA.
A person tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant and may have contracted it through travel outside of the community, according to Healthy Davis Together and the UC Davis Genome Center.
The variant, which originated in the United Kingdom, was also detected in Southern California and the Bay area. Gov. Gavin Newsom said most of the confirmed cases have been in the San Diego area.
“Even though Davis has an overall low rate of COVID-19 positive tests, it has always been a matter of when, not if, we would see new variants in the area. A variant that spreads more easily, such as B.1.1.7 (which originally emerged and spread in the UK), will eventually displace other variants,” David Coil said, the project director of Environmental Monitoring for Healthy Davis Together and Project Scientist at the Genome Center.
Researchers predict the B.1.1.7 variant will spread rapidly in the United States. The first reported case of the strain was in Colorado back in late December. Days later, it was reported in San Diego.
"So far, studies suggest that antibodies generated through vaccination with currently authorized vaccines recognize these variants," the two groups said.
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