Los Angeles Public Health officials have confirmed a second case of the Covid-19 variant B.1.1.7 just weeks after identifying the first instance in the county on Jan. 16.
Officials believe that B.1.1.7, which was first discovered in the united Kingdom, is already spreading throughout the county and more contagious than the first coronavirus strain. News of the second B.1.1.7 case comes as Public Health also confirms 6,918 new Covid-19 cases as 316 new deaths.
The latest tally brings Los Angeles County to a total of 1,111,089 positive cases and 16,647 deaths, officials reported on Saturday. The newest statistics also come a day after officials lifted the ban on outdoor dining, following Gov. Gavin Newson’s state-wide lift on stay-at-home orders.
“Because some sectors have re-opened, it doesn’t mean that the risk for community transmission has gone away; it hasn’t, and each of us needs to make very careful choices about what we do and how we do it,” said Los Angeles Public Health director Barbara Ferrer. “This virus is strong, and we are now concerned about variants and what these will mean in our region.”
Public Health Confirms Second Case of U.K. Coronavirus Variant in L.A. County; Identifies Four Additional Cases of MIS-C. 316 New Deaths and 6,918 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. View https://t.co/vSqJWEReFF for More Information. pic.twitter.com/qSP7xSA2gM
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) January 30, 2021
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