A case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 has been identified in a sample from an adult resident of Eastern Virginia, and a second case of the B.1.351 COVID-19 variant has been identified in an adult resident of Eastern Virginia.
This from the Virginia Department of Health, which is working with the CDC to increase domestic strain surveillance capacity to sequence thousands of specimens every week.
To date, Virginia has now identified a total of six cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and two cases of the B.1.351 variant.
Per a release from VDH, health officials expect to see new strains as disease spreads.
For more information about COVID-19 variants, visit the VDH COVID-19 Testing website and the CDC New COVID-19 Variants website.
For more information on DCLS and its use of next-generation sequencing, visit dgs.virginia.gov/dcls.