The United States has reported at least 618 cases of COVID-19 variants in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa in 33 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of that total, 611 is the UK’s most contagious variant known as B.1.1.7, of which there were 187 cases in Florida and 145 in California, the CDC said in a Thursday update.
There are five cases of variant B.1.351, which was first detected in South Africa. Three of them are in Maryland and two in South Carolina.
Meanwhile, two cases of the P.1 strain from Brazil have been identified in Minnesota, according to the CDC.
The 618 cases, which are based on a sample of positive samples, “do not represent the total number of cases of lineage B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 that may be circulating in the United States and may not correspond to reported numbers by states, territories, tribes and local authorities, ”noted the agency.