RICHMOND, Va. — State health officials reported that a third person in Virginia has come down with a case of a COVID-19 variant that first surfaced in South Africa.
The Virginia Department of Health released details on Thursday about the case. The state health division first revealed at the beginning of the month that someone in Eastern Virginia fell ill with the B.1.351 variant, which marked the first time the case was found in the state.
Now, someone in Southwest Virginia has tested positive for the mutated virus. That person recently returned from international travel. No other details about the individual have been released, but health authorities have tracked down the people who have come into contact with this person since their return.
Two other cases of the B.1.351 variant have been reported in Virginia and so far, 12 people in the state have fallen ill with the U.K. strain -- B.1.1.7.
two other cases of the B.1.351 variant and 12 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant have now been identified in Virginia, as of Thursday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m.
The variant has been found in nine other states so far.
At this time, there's no evidence that this variant causes a more severe illness, officials said.