First Cases of South African Covid Variant Discovered in South Carolina

The first cases of the highly contagious South African coronavirus strain has been detected in the U.S. and they’re both right here in South Carolina. According to the World Health Organization, the variant known as B.1.351 has been detected in over 30 other countries at this time. There’s a lot of unknowns surrounding this strain. It’s said to be more transmissible than most other versions of the virus but health experts currently do not know if this “variant causes more severe disease” than what we’ve already seen. It’s also believed the current vaccines will be less effective at combating this strain. DHEC identified the two known cases earlier this month. Fortunately, the patients are no longer contagious, and are reportedly doing well. But this now begs the question, how did they get it? Both are adults who had no known connection or travel history, which could indicate there are more cases out there and that it was likely contracted through community spread. As of now, no other cases have been linked to either patient at this point.