Brazilian variant in state

The Brazilian variant of coronavirus has emerged in Oregon, the first known case on the U.S. West Coast, medical authorities said this week. “The P.1 variant … appears to be related to business travel outside the United States to and from Brazil,” the Douglas County COVID19 Response Team said this week. The variant appears to be more contagious than the original strain.

There have been 10 other cases of the P.1 variant reported in the U.S., with five in Florida, two in Minnesota and one each in Oklahoma, Alaska and Maryland, the CDC says.