Coronavirus USA Updates: Case of UK variant found in Florida

Florida has identified its first case of the U.K. COVID-19 variant, health officials said Thursday night.

Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a male in his 20s with no history of travel. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation.

— Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) January 1, 2021

The case is in a Martin County man in his 20s “with no history of travel,” the Florida Department of Health said on Twitter.

This marks the third state in the U.S., following Colorado and California, to identify cases of the variant.

U.K. health officials have found that the new COVID-19 variant isn’t more deadly than the prior dominant variant, but it is likely more transmissible. Experts also believe that the authorized vaccines will still be effective against it.