Matt Failor drives his dog team, high in the Alaska Range during the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race in Rainy Pass, Alaska, U.S. March 8, 2021. Gunnar Johnson of Minnesota tested positive for COVID-19 at the checkpoint in McGrath and has withdrawn from the race. (Zachariah Hughes/ADN/Pool via REUTERS)
The Iditarod has announced its first coronavirus case, in a musher at a major mid-race checkpoint.
Gunnar Johnson of Minnesota tested positive for COVID-19 at the checkpoint in McGrath, near race mile 310, more than a third of the way into the Iditarod.
Race officials required mushers to test negative for COVID-19 three times before the Iditarod began the last swab taken hours before Sunday’s start.