San Clemente Man Tests Positive For UK Variant Of COVID-19

SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA) – A San Clemente man has tested positive for the highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom, authorities reported Monday.

The California Public Health Department notified the Orange County Health Care Agency over the weekend that the man had tested positive for the variant after spending time in the Big Bear area. It's the first known case of the variant in O.C.

The man tested positive on Jan. 26 and "his symptoms have now resolved," according to a memo sent Monday to the Orange County Board of Supervisors from Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the O.C. Health Care Agency and the county's chief health officer.

The man has "no history of international travel" and "is not part of a larger outbreak," Chau wrote. "We are trying to get his close contacts tested to see if they have evidence of infection."

Last week, San Bernardino County reported that four cases of the UK strain were detected in Big Bear, two in late December and two more in mid-January.

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department has so far discovered at least three cases of the U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7.

The U.K.-variant was first detected in the U.S. in late December. Chau said about 150 cases have been identified in California, "the majority in San Diego."

Also on Monday, OCHCA reported 942 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 239,206 cases and 3,383 deaths.

There were 1,046 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 331 of whom were being treated in intensive care units — both declines from the day before.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)