Alaska health officials have reported a South Central Alaska case of a coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa.
The case was first identified in March in the region that includes Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna district, according to a report by a consortium of state and university health officials dated Tuesday.
According to Alaska Public Media, the report did not provide case details on how the person got the virus or whether others were exposed.
The person had no history of travel, Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist for the state, said during a public call Wednesday.
Five new cases of a variant first identified in the UK are also cited in Tuesday’s report and were found last month in Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough and in south-eastern Alaska. The report does not provide greater specificity regarding location. Two cases of the variant have been previously announced.
The report included a new case of a variant first identified in Brazil in the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna area, which they said was from February. So far, six cases of the variant have been identified in Alaska.
The report represents the tests from a subset of samples and is not considered a comprehensive look at the distribution of variants.
Daily News reporter Moran Krakow contributed.