Arizona officials concerned with COVID-19 variant

As Arizonans return to normal life, flocking to crowded bars and sports arenas after a long pandemic filled with restrictions, a new COVID-19 variant has begun creeping its way into the state.

The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, which originated in India, was classified last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a variant of concern. It was previously considered only a variant of interest. The highly transmissible variant is currently spreading through 85 countries and is behind the massive virus outbreaks in India; it has also become the most dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.K. The World Health Organization has deemed it the most transmissible of all identifi ed variants.