Another case of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant first identified in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Virginia. Officials with the Virginia Department of Health say the most-recent case has been linked to an individual in northwest Virginia. That person recently returned to the Commonwealth after travelling internationally.
Credit CDC Four cases of the B.1.1.7 variant have been discovered in Virginia so far. Three of those were in northern Virginia.
Here is the complete announcement: (RICHMOND, Va.) – The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) today announced that a case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 has been identified in a sample from an adult resident of Northwest Virginia who recently returned to Virginia after international travel. The B.1.1.7 variant, which first emerged in the United Kingdom in late 2020, is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. A preliminary report from experts in the United Kingdom indicates that this variant causes more severe illness than other variants, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding.