Santa Clara County Reports 551 New Coronavirus Cases, 20 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 551 additional coronavirus cases Wednesday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 94,905.

The county reported 20 additional coronavirus-related fatalities Wednesday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 1,129.

There were 608 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the county as of Wednesday, of which 145 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere around the Bay Area and beyond, the L452R coronavirus variant has been detected in Monterey County following a genomic sequencing investigation by the California Department of Public Health, county officials said this week.

The L452R variant, which has also been dubbed the "California variant" for its role in recent outbreaks, is different from the B.1.1.7 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom.

The L452R variant was first found in Denmark last year and has been identified in other states as well. The variant has, to date, been identified in at least 12 counties across the state, including San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

According to the Monterey County Health Department, the L452R variant has also appeared in the state more frequently since November.

President Joe Biden on his first day in office Wednesday signed an executive orders mandating mask wearing and social distancing in federal buildings and on federal lands and to create a COVID-19 response coordinator, The Guardian reports.

Biden also rejoined the United States in the World Health Organization (WHO), Vox reports.

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There have been 3,062,794 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 34,599 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Wednesday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 24,414,198 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 405,599 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon.

There have been 96,772,496 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,071,742 coronavirus-related deaths reported globally as of Wednesday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report