New Jersey is reporting its first death from the new COVID-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

The variant was known to be more contagious, and just last week, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there's evidence the strain could be more deadly.

State health commissioner Judith Persichilli says six new cases of the variant have been reported in the state, bringing it to a total of eight, since the beginning of the month. Of the eight cases, half are from Ocean County, two are from Essex County and two from Morris County. At least one of the new cases is a person who traveled internationally.

“We've got one variant in the state, the science on it is early, based on what folks think so far it's easily transmitted, and the jury is still out on whether it's more lethal,” says Persichilli.

Health officials in the state say the person did have significant underlying conditions.