The Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday that the first case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 was identified in Northern Virginia.
The VDH said that the variant was identified in a sample from an adult resident of Northern Virginia who had no history of travel during the exposure period.
B.1.351 was first discovered in South Africa in late 2020, and is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19.
This new case in Northern Virginia means that Virginia has now identified a total of 20 cases of the South African variant and 49 cases of B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.