South African COVID Variant Confirmed in California

A researcher works in a lab that is developing testing for the COVID-19 coronavirus at Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation in Nutley, N.J., on Feb. 28, 2020. Kena Betancur/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—The first two cases of a South African variant of COVID-19 were confirmed in California Feb. 10—but not in the Southland—with Gov. Gavin Newsom saying one case each was detected in the Bay Area counties of Alameda and Santa Clara.

“The issue of mutations is top of mind, not only here in the state of California and across this nation, but increasingly around the globe,” Newsom said.