A day after health experts warned a variant of the COVID-19 strain that spreads easier could already be in Washington state, the Department of Health announced the B.1.1.7 variant was detected in two cases.

The UW Medicine Virology Lab detected two cases of the variant in specimens from two Snohomish County residents.

The lab screened 1,035 samples between Dec. 25 and Jan. 20 to detect mutations associated with the variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.

Data collected so far suggests a low prevalence of the variant in western Washington. However, it is likely that other cases exist and will be discovered through continued monitoring. https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/uk-covid-variant-snohomish-county/281-e9e508a7-cc03-4e54-a21d-1717c54231fe