The Minnesota Department of Health is releasing more details about the new strain of COVID that has shown up in Minnesota.
So far, five people in four different metro area counties contracted the virus. Two are in the same household.
But Kris Ehresmann, infectious disease director for MDH, says says the new strain is likely in many more places..
"This is circulating in Minnesota. We've identified cases in four counties, but that does not mean it's confined to those four counties at all."
Health officials stress that the new strain, which showed up first in the UK, is no more dangerous than the original COVID-19 virus.
Officials do say there is a pattern of younger people getting the new strain. The five people who tested positive in Minnesota are between 15 and 37.
