A total of 471 cases of coronavirus strains first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in at least 32 US states, according to data posted late Sunday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The vast majority of these cases, 467, are the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected in the UK. These include 147 cases in Florida, 113 in California, 42 in New York and 22 in Michigan. The rest have fewer than 20 cases each
In addition, there are three US cases of a strain initially seen in South Africa, called B.1.351 – two in South Carolina and one in Maryland. Last, Minnesota health officials previously reported one case of the P.1 strain first linked to Brazil.
CDC says this does not represent the total number of such cases circulating in the US, but rather just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples. The agency cautions that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.