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New strain of COVID shows up in SoCal

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — California's fight against the pandemic just got a little more complicated.

Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom says one case of the coronavirus variant was discovered in the state, it's a different strand than what we've been seeing here so far.

The strand of the coronavirus first popped up in the U.K. several weeks ago.

Now, health officials say the case was found in San Diego. One confirmed case has been reported in the region. This comes just one day after a man in Colorado was found to have this new strand of the virus.

The variant strand of coronavirus we're now seeing is proving to be more infectious and harder to treat.

Wednesday, public health responded to word of the new strand in California. So far, there are no reports of that strand of the virus in Kern County.

Michelle Corson from public health said, "As we experienced with COVID-19 during the beginning of the pandemic, there is much to be learned about the new strain."