A newly identified strain of the prevalent coronavirus in Southern California could be contributing the drastic ear in cases in the region, according to new research released Monday. The study, which has not been reviewed by experts, found that more than a third of recent COVID-19 patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles were infected with the strain, according to a statement summarizing its findings. .
The strain, known as CAL.20C, includes five types of recurrent mutations. The statement said it is still unclear if it is more deadly than other forms of the virus.
CAL.20C was almost non-existent in October, but in December it accounted for 36% of Cedars-Sinai patient virus samples and 24% of all Southern California samples, according to the statement. The strain has also been detected in northern California, New York, Washington, DC and even Oceania, according to the statement.
“The double-digit prevalence of the CAL.20C strain in November and December was staggering given that it was first observed in July 2020 in only one of the 1,230 virus samples in Los Angeles County and had not been detected again in Southern California by October, “said Jasmine Plummer, a researcher at the Cedars-Sinai Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics and the study’s lead author.
CAL.20C differs from the rapidly spreading virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom, which is known as B.1.1.7. This strain, which is 50% more contagious than other forms of the virus, has been identified in at least 20 states, according to CBS News’ David Begnaud.
The CAL.20C announcement comes when Los Angeles County has gone global viral. One person dies from the virus every six minutes in the county, and now there is such an accumulation of bodies that air quality standards have been loosened to allow for more cremations.
More than a million people in the county have been diagnosed with the virus and nearly 14,000 have died, more than any other county in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.