COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa has been found in the United States for the first time, with two cases diagnosed in South Carolina, state health officials said Thursday.
The two cases were discovered in adults in different regions of the state and do not appear to be connected. Neither of the people infected has travelled recently, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
“That’s frightening,” because it means there could be more undetected cases within the state, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It’s probably more widespread.”
Viruses are constantly mutating, and coronavirus variants are circulating around the globe, but scientists are primarily concerned with the emergence of three. Other variants first reported in the United Kingdom and Brazil were previously confirmed in the U.S. Researchers believe these three variants may spread more easily.
As the variants bring a potential for greater infection risks in the U.S., pandemic-weary lawmakers in several states are pushing back against mask mandates, business closures and other protective restrictions ordered by governors.
The coronavirus has already sickened millions and killed roughly 430,000 people in the United States.
While the rollout of vaccines has been slow, President Joe Biden has pledged to deliver 100 million injections in his first 100 days in office — and suggested it’s possible the U.S. could reach 1.5 million shots a day.
While some European countries do extensive genetic testing to detect these variants, the U.S. has done little of this detective work. But scientists have been quickly trying to do more, which has revealed the more contagious variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported at least 315 cases of the U.K.-discovered variant in the United States. Those reports have come from at least 28 states, and health officials believe it could become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March. That variant has been reported in at least 70 countries.
The first U.S. case of the variant found in Brazil was announced earlier this week by health officials in Minnesota. It was a person who recently travelled to that South American nation. That version of the virus has popped up in more than a half-dozen countries.
The variant first found in South Africa was detected in October. Since then, it has been found in at least 30 other countries.
Some tests suggest the South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibody drugs or antibody-rich blood from COVID-19 survivors, both of which help people fight off the virus.
Health officials also worry that if the virus changes enough, people might get COVID-19 a second time.
Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, the U.K. and South Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans avoid travel.
