Santa Clara County Confirms Second Case Of South African Variant

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County public health officials believe that a second case of the South African COVID-19 variant confirmed on Wednesday was a result of community spread, indicating that the variant has been circulating in the community at some level.

Officials warned that because genomic sequencing is limited, the true level of spread of variants is unknown.

While experts don’t believe the South African variant causes more serious cases, vaccines appear to be less effective, though still offer some level of protection against the variant.

“Considering the national trends, we have been operating under the assumption that these variants were circulating at some level in our communities,” said Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody in a news release. “This latest case confirms that we do have community transmission, and reminds us to not let down our guard in the middle of this pandemic.”

Twenty states have reported confirmed cases of the South African variant. The first confirmed case of the variant in Santa Clara County was determined to be travel-related and was announced on Feb. 10.

There are also now 15 cases of the United Kingdom variant in the county, according to a news release.

COVID-19 daily case rates in the county have declined since the winter surge. The county is averaging a rolling seven-day average of 146 new cases a day as it races to vaccinate residents.