The announcement on Wednesday follows the first confirmed US case of the B117 variant in Colorado on Tuesday.
Governor Newsom revealed the latest discovery during a virtual conversation with Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, but did not specify how many patients are impacted or where the case or cases were discovered. The variant was discovered in southern California, the governor added.
The variant – a common development in viral history as a virus replicates through transmission – is more contagious but is not believed to be more lethal or resistant to current Covid-19 vaccine efforts.
«I don’t think that Californians should feel this is something odd,» Dr Fauci said. «This is something that’s expected.»
Health officials in Colorado on Wednesday announced that the first confirmed US case of the variant was detected in a National Guard service member deployed to a nursing home with an ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Another National Guard service member who was also serving the care centre may also be infected with the variant.
Neither service members have travelled outside of the US within recent weeks, suggesting there is already viral transmission within the US, underscoring the urgency for rapid vaccine distribution.
California officials have implemented stay-at-home orders across more than half the state as hospitals become increasingly strained by the public health crisis.
Hospitalisations in Los Angeles surpassed 7,000 for the first time during the pandemic on Tuesday. More than 21,000 people in the state are currently hospitalised. The county’s infection positivity rate has topped 16 per cent; the statewide average is roughly 12 per cent.
More than 2.1 million infections have been confirmed in state since the onset of the pandemic. Nearly 25,000 people have died, as of Wednesday.
Sioux Tribe prioritising Covid vaccines for native language speakers
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has decided to prioritise the administration of coronavirus vaccines to those who speak native languages in an attempt to keep oral customs alive.
Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Mike Faith explained the decision to KXMB-TV, noting that only about 300 people on the reservation are fluent in the language.
“It’s something we have to pass on to our loved ones, our history, our culture our language. We don’t have it in black and white, we tell stories. That’s why it’s so important,” Mr Faith said.
Fort Yates hospital has already begun distributing vaccines to Frontline health care workers and from next week those who speak their native language will be granted priority.
The next phase will also include elders, law enforcement, tribal courts, and the school system, tribal officials said.
Tribal Health Director Margaret Gates said the Lakota and Dakota speakers “are the most important asset to our tribe and people because of the language.”
The Standing Rock reservation straddles the North Dakota and South Dakota border and is home to about 8,000 people, more than half of whom live in North Dakota.
Figures have increased from 106 cases in early August to 550 cases in late November, according to data from the tribe, reported by the newspaper.
Last month, Jesse “Jay” Taken Alive, 65, the former chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe died after contracting Covid-19.
«Our people have gone through these things before, Spanish flu, famine. We’ve always come through it and survived, so we’ll survive this,» The tribes Emergency Manager Elliott Ward told KXMB-TV.
North Dakota has recorded more than 93,000 cases of the novel coronavirus since the outbreak gripped the US in March, with more then 1,300 deaths in the state.
