'Double-mutant' COVID strain discovered in California

• Date: 05 April 2021
• Published date: 05 April 2021
• Author: Gary Willig
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

The strain originated in India and has been prevalent in the Indian State of Maharashtra, which has seen coronavirus cases surge by 50% over the last week.

One case of the variant was identified in California by the Stanford Clinical Virology Lab, which is currently screening seven other potential cases, Stanford Health Care spokesperson Lisa Kim said.

Scientists have referred to the strain as a "double mutant" because it contains two mutations which help the virus attach itself to host cells.

Scientists fear these mutations could make the strain more infectious than the regular coronavirus.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, told the Chronicle that it "makes sense" for the new variant to be more easily transmissible, but it is currently unknown whether it truly is. At...