According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the US has reported at least 618 cases of COVID-19 variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa in 33 states.
Of the total, 611 are the more contagious British 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 the B.1.351 variant, which was first detected in South Africa. Three of them are in Maryland and two in South Carolina.
Meanwhile, according to the CDC, two cases of the P.1 strain from Brazil have been identified.
The 618 cases, based on a sample of positive samples, “do not represent the total number of B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 lineage cases circulating in the United States that may not match numbers reported by states, territories, tribes and local officials, ”the agency noted.