PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced on Thursday morning the first confirmed case of a new, fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus in Dauphin County.
Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the patient picked up the COVID-19 infection outside of Pennsylvania.
"It was a travel-related case," Levine said. "It was not a community spread."
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A case investigation and contact tracing were performed to identify, inform and monitor anyone who was in close contact with this individual, according to a press release.
The individual experienced only mild symptoms, which have since been resolved while the person was in isolation at home.
The variant, which first came to wide attention in the United Kingdom, has now been found in several states. Levine said it was only a matter of time before it showed up here.
"This is really not surprising. Dr. Fauci has been talking about this nationally now for a week or more. We expect to see the variant. We expect to see some more cases of the variant in Pennsylvania and the United States," she said.
She said experts believe the vaccines currently in distribution should be effective against this strain.