South African COVID variant reported in Alaska

ANCHORAGE (AP) - Health officials have reported a case of a Coronavirus variant in Southcentral Alaska first detected in South Africa.

The Alaska case was reported as first identified in March in the region that includes Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, according to a report from a consortium of state and university health officials dated April 6.

The report did not provide case details such as how the person got the virus or whether others may have been exposed.

Five new cases of a variant first identified in the United Kingdom also were cited in the report and were found in the Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and in Southeast Alaska last month. The report does not provide greater specificity on location. So far, six cases of that variant have been identified in Alaska.

The report represents testing from a subset of samples and is not considered a comprehensive look at how variants are spreading.