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LOS ANGELES — While the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 remains the ascendant strain of the microorganism successful Los Angeles County, wellness officials connected Friday, Sept. 3, confirmed the beingness of what’s known arsenic the Mu variant, which is besides described arsenic highly contagious and perchance capable to evade vaccines.
According to the region Department of Public Health, 167 Mu variants person been detected successful the county, each betwixt June 19 and Aug. 21, with astir of them recovered successful July.
The Mu variant — officially labeled a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization — was archetypal discovered successful Colombia successful January, and it has since been detected successful 39 countries. Some archetypal reviews of the variant person indicated it has the imaginable to evade presently disposable vaccines. But successful a connection Friday, region wellness officials said “more studies are needed to find whether Mu variant is much contagious, much deadly oregon much resistant to vaccine and treatments than different COVID-19 strains.”
The Delta variant remains the ascendant COVID-19 strain circulating successful the county, with Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer saying Thursday it represents astir each of the cases that acquisition the sequencing needed to place circumstantial viral mutations. Delta is labeled a “variant of concern” by the WHO.
“The recognition of variants similar Mu, and the spreading of variants crossed the globe, highlights the request for L.A. County residents to proceed to instrumentality measures to support themselves and others,” Ferrer said successful a connection Friday. “This is what makes getting vaccinated and layering protections truthful important. These are actions that interruption the concatenation of transmission and limits COVID-19 proliferation that allows for the microorganism to mutate into thing that could beryllium much dangerous.”
The region reported different 37 COVID-19 deaths connected Friday, raising the cumulative decease toll from the microorganism to 25,401.
Another 2,673 cases were besides confirmed, lifting the wide full from passim the pandemic to 1,414,854.
The fig of COVID-positive infirmary patients successful the region continued a dependable decline, with authorities figures putting the fig astatine 1,593 arsenic of Friday, down from 1,641 connected Thursday. There were 453 patients successful intensive care, up from 445 a time earlier.
Ferrer noted Thursday that the region has begun to spot decreases successful the complaint of caller infections. According to Ferrer, the county’s cumulative seven-day complaint of caller cases was 159 per 100,000 residents this week, a 16% driblet from past week and down 22% from the highest of 204 per 100,000 residents successful mid-August.
“It’s important to enactment we are seeing little transmission crossed the committee successful general, but due to the fact that the Delta variant is truthful susceptible of infecting tons of people, we inactive person precise precocious numbers of radical getting infected,” Ferrer said Thursday. “And portion successful L.A. County, you look astatine our numbers and accidental we person tons and tons of radical vaccinated … but we besides person tons and tons of radical that are unvaccinated — a precise bully reservoir for highly infectious variants.”
The county’s complaint of radical investigating affirmative for the microorganism roseate Friday to 3.3%, up from 2.97% a time earlier.
Among eligible region residents aged 12 and over, 75% person received astatine slightest 1 dose of vaccine, portion 65% are afloat vaccinated.
Again touting the effectiveness of the vaccines, Ferrer said that of astir 5.3 cardinal residents who were afloat vaccinated arsenic of Tuesday, 37,614 person tested affirmative for the virus, for a complaint of 0.71%, portion 1,049 person been hospitalized, a complaint of 0.02%. Of those afloat vaccinated, 118 person died, for a complaint of 0.0022%.
English (US) ·