A student at the University of Washington had the so-called United Kingdom variant of the coronavirus, the university announced in an email to students and employees on Tuesday.
The B.1.1.7 variant was detected in a Seattle student's test from late January.
"The student is doing well and out of their isolation period," Dr. Geoffrey Gottlieb, chair of the university's advisory committee on communicable diseases, wrote in the email.
The variant that was first identified in the U.K. is believed to be 30% to 50% more contagious than the more common variant, and therefore it takes less exposure to infect a person. The first case in King County of the new variant was found on Jan. 29.
Gottlieb urged the UW community to continue to social-distance, wear masks when outside the home, wash hands frequently, get tested when necessary and get vaccinated when eligible.
