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California’s first cases of infection caused by the South Africa coronavirus variant have been confirmed in the San Francisco Bay Area, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. Newsom said one case was found in Alameda County and the other in Santa Clara County. He did not share additional information on those who tested positive or how they might have contracted the viral variant, called B.1.351. Newsom said the cases involving the South Africa strain had been reported “as of a few hours ago.” (Money, 2/10)

Shortly after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom spoke, California recorded 44,989 deaths due to the pandemic. That made it the US state with the highest number of Covid-related fatalities, surpassing New York which on Wednesday recorded a total of 44,683 deaths. ... California also has its own unique strains. Newsom announced that 1,203 instances of the so-called West Coast Variants had been identified in the state. That’s a 20% increase in less than a week. Many of them seem to be in Los Angeles. “At least 50% of our samples have shown the West Coast variant,” said Ferrer, before hedging that “more research needs to be done.” (Tapp, 2/10)

“It was bound to happen,” said George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology at UC San Francisco, noting California’s size. But, he said, the raw numbers don’t tell the full story since California’s population is so much bigger. In terms of deaths per capita, California is still miles behind New York, which ranks second in the nation, according to the New York Times. The Golden State ranks 32nd. (Bobrowsky, 2/10)

The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is a concern because it could undermine the protection given by vaccines against developing COVID-19, the head of the UK’s genetic surveillance programme said. She also said the variant was dominant in the country and was likely “to sweep the world, in all probability”. (Faulconbridge, 2/11)

The number of new Covid-19 cases reported across the globe has declined for a fourth week in a row, according to data from the World Health Organization, offering a glimmer of hope that the world is turning a corner in its efforts to contain the pandemic. The number of Covid-19 deaths reported worldwide decreased for the second week running, with 88,000 new deaths reported last week, a 10% drop compared to the previous week, according to WHO. (Diaz and Smith-Spark, 2/10)