Delta variant of COVID-19 shows up in Sacramento region amid fears about contagious strain

An El Dorado County resident has tested positive for the Delta variant of COVID-19, officials confirmed Thursday, in what appears to be one of the first cases of the contagious strain in capital region’s foothills communities.

Carla Hass, spokeswoman for the county, said the Delta variant was found in a specimen that arrived at the county health department June 2. But it wasn’t until this week that tests showed it was the Delta variant, she said.

The positive case was first reported by the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

In Sacramento County, there have been 67 cases identified as the Delta variant. But similar to Stanislaus County, those numbers don’t project the total number of Delta cases in the community, only the total of samples submitted for sequencing.

The Delta variant first appeared in COVID-stricken India and has raised fears about renewed surges elsewhere, even as vaccination rates climb. Los Angeles County this week called on its residents to wear masks indoors, even if they’ve been fully vaccinated, but so far no other county — or the state itself — has issued a similar recommendation.

“Masking, face coverings work to control the spread of the virus and that includes variants,” Hass said. “If people are concerned they have the right ... to wear a face covering.”

But the county isn’t making a formal recommendation with regard to the Delta variant, she said.

Hass said the patient lives in the Diamond Springs-El Dorado area; she didn’t have information about gender or age, or the person’s current condition.

“I don’t know for sure if they were vaccinated or not; they have not responded to our contact tracer,” Hass said.

She said the person’s name doesn’t appear on the county’s list of those who’ve been vaccinated, but that list “isn’t fool-proof.”

It’s unclear how widespread the variant is in California. On its website, the California Department of Public Health says it found 372 cases as of June 23 — but it adds that those figures are based on a relatively small sample of COVID infections whose DNA had been sequenced. Only about 11% of all cases are sequenced, the department said.

On the whole, El Dorado County has been fairly quiet as far as COVID infections go; only 117 deaths have been recorded in the largely rural county. About 44% of its residents have been fully vaccinated.

This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 8:51 AM.