Maryland confirms case of South African variant of Covid that is more contagious

Maryland has reported a case of the new, highly transmissible variant of Covid-19 first found in South Africa, marking the third case to be detected in the United States, Governor Larry Hogan announced on Saturday.

The case involves an adult resident living in the Baltimore area with no history of international travel, Maryland health officials and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed.

“We strongly encourage Marylanders to exercise extra caution to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant,” Hogan said. “Please continue to apply standard public health and safety measures, including wearing a mask, regular hand washing and physical distancing.”

The first two US cases of the South African variant, known as B.1.351, were identified in South Carolina on January 28. Other variants found in the United States originate from Great Britain and Brazil.

The variants do not appear to cause greater illness or increased risk of death, but they are thought to be highly contagious. Health officials are particularly concerned with the B.1.351 variant because preliminary research suggests that vaccines may be less effective in combating it.

President Joe Biden last week signed a travel ban for most non-US citizens entering the country who were recently in South Africa and reinstated travel restrictions on entry for non-US citizens of the UK- Kingdom and Brazil.

The virus has infected more than 25.9 million people and killed at least 436,000 people in the United States since the start of the pandemic, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.