UC Berkeley records first cases of COVID-19 variant strain from UK
Amidst a surge of COVID-19 cases on campus and across the state of California, UC Berkeley announced Thursday that two students tested positive for the coronavirus variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom.
The announcement follows an Alameda County report of six confirmed or suspected cases of the variant, which includes one of the two campus cases, for a total of 133 reported cases of the variant statewide as of press time. According to a Berkeley News press release, both students recently arrived from abroad and the two cases were connected. Neither student had been on campus apart from testing purposes, the release added.
“With more viruses circulating, emerging strains that are more transmissible will tend to dominate,” said University Health Services medical director Dr. Anna Harte in the press release. “What is more concerning is whether they may become resistant to our vaccines, and how lethal they are.”
Campus recorded a total of 213 cases in the past week, as of press time, of which 52 were reported since the beginning of February.
Campus efforts to sequence virus-positive samples also identified a case of reinfection in January, according to the press release. The individual tested positive for a new variant of the virus discovered in California after testing positive in July 2020 for a different variant of SARS-CoV-2.
The press release noted that students should heed public health precautions and continue to wear masks, wash their hands and follow social distancing protocols.
“There are more variants out there and there are a lot more people with COVID-19 out there,” said Stacia Wyman, a researcher with the UC Berkeley Innovative Genomics Institute, in the press release. “It is really important now, when we are trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible, that we slow down the virus as much as we can and give the vaccine a chance to work.”
Check back for updates.
Aditya Katewa is a deputy news editor. Contact him at akatewa@dailycal.org and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.