Alaska reports more cases of COVID-19 variants

ANCHORAGE (AP) - A highly transmissible Coronavirus variant originally traced to Brazil has been discovered in Alaska, as have 10 cases of a strain first identified in California.

The first case of the California variant was identified in Alaska in January, and has since been discovered in nine more infected people. The report came Feb. 24 from a team of scientists assembled by the state to investigate new strains of the virus.

Researchers say the California variant is more contagious and potentially more effective at evading vaccines.

The Brazilian variant was identified in an Anchorage resident who developed COVID-19 symptoms, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The person had no known travel history.

It’s the sixth case of the variant found in five U.S. states, officials said.

Dr. Joe McLaughlin, an epidemiologist with the state health department, said there is evidence to suggest the Brazilian variant is more transmissible than the original virus and that its mutations also “appear to change the antigenic profile of the virus.”

That means it can potentially be contracted by someone who was already infected or who has been vaccinated.

It’s also troublesome that the person in the Alaska case has no known travel history. “That does make it more concerning,” McLaughlin said. “So we are trying to do a thorough epidemiological investigation to figure out where the person actually got infected from.”

The person ate at an Anchorage restaurant with at least one other person in late January and didn’t wear a mask. The infected person developed symptoms four days later and tested positive on Feb. 8

The state also has had two cases of people with the Coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom.

“COVID is still circulating,” McLaughlin said, adding that more variant cases will likely be detected even as cases overall continue to decline.

“We really want people to continue following all the mitigation strategies,” McLaughlin said. “There’s a reasonably high probability that the infection may have incurred while the person was eating at a restaurant with another person, so we just want to make sure people continue to stay within their social bubbles.”