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The bartender had worked a double shift the day before testing positive, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said during a virtual news conference.
The bartender also said his place of employment -- which was not identified -- has had multiple COVID-19 cases among staff dating back to November 2020, Arkoosh said.
The bartender began experiencing fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough, loss of taste and smell, abdominal pain, and diarrhea on Jan. 13, Arkoosh said.
The bartender tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 15 and, this week, a lab confirmed it was the new, more contagious U.K. variant of the virus, officials said.
Arkoosh said the county's Office of Public Health completed contact tracing on Jan. 25, the next day after being notified the individual had tested positive for the U.K. variant.
“This is just a reminder that it is quite likely that this more contagious U.K. variant is here in Montgomery County., Arkoosh said.
"If you needed another reminder to be careful in terms of wearing a mask, keeping your hands clean, and watching your distance from others, this is certainly the wake-up call to do so."
Health officials said a woman in her 50s, who lives in both Philadelphia and Bucks County, was found to have the U.K. variant earlier this month, 6abc Action News reports.
The fell ill at the end of December after having contact with someone who traveled to England, and was briefly hospitalized. She was recovering as of this week, officials said.
Philadelphia officials confirmed on Thursday that a second city resident tested positive for the U.K. variant.
As of Jan. 28, Montgomery County has seen 42,150 positive cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic on March 7, 2020, according to the county's official website.
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