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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (right) announced on Saturday that the state had detected its first case of coronavirus caused by the variant first identified in South Africa.
Hogan said the presence of the variant has been confirmed by the Maryland Department of Health in consultation with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The case involves an adult living in the Baltimore metropolitan area who has not traveled overseas, which increases the prospect of community transmission of the mutated virus.
“State health officials are closely monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 in the state,” Hogan said. “We strongly encourage people in Maryland to be more careful to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant. Please continue to apply standard public health and safety measures, including wearing a mask, regular hand washing, and physical distancing. ”
Health officials have sounded the alarm bells about the spread of the variant. Although there is not enough evidence to suggest that the South African variant causes more serious illness, it appears to be more contagious and resistant to certain vaccines.
The first case of the South African variant to be detected in the United States was discovered in South Carolina on Thursday.
Pfizer and Moderna have assured the public that their vaccines are still effective against the mutation.
Experts said the spread of the South African variant and other mutations found in Brazil and the UK only underscored the need for widespread vaccinations to reduce the possibility of the virus mutating as it spread.
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