Outbreak of P.3 (Theta) SARS-CoV-2 emerging variant of concern among service workers in Louisiana

In May, 2021, during routine oil and gas industrial quarantine/premobilization procedures, four individuals who recently arrived to Louisiana from the Philippines tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Subsequent genomic analysis showed that all were infected with a Variant of Interest (P.3-Theta). This increases the number of known P.3 infections in the United States to eleven and highlights the importance of genomic surveillance within industries that are prone to rapidly spread the infection.