The two cases have been discovered in adults in different parts of the state and do not appear to be linked. None of the infected people have traveled recently, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
“That’s terrifying,” because it means there may be more undetected cases within the state, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It’s probably more widespread.”
The advent of the variant shows that “the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, South Carolina’s interim health director, said in a statement. “While more COVID-19 vaccines are on the way, supplies are still limited. Each of us must re-engage in the fight by recognizing that we are now all on the front lines. We are all in this together.”
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Viruses are constantly mutating and coronavirus variants circulating around the world, but scientists are especially concerned about the emergence of three. Other variants first reported in the UK and Brazil were previously confirmed in the US. Researchers believe these three variants can spread more easily.
As the variants carry a potential for greater risk of infection in the US, pandemic-weary lawmakers in several states are pushing back against mask mandates, corporate closures, and other protective restrictions imposed by governors.
States such as Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky and Indiana are weighing up proposals to limit their governors’ ability to enforce emergency restrictions. The Wisconsin legislature was expected to vote to revoke the governor’s mask mandate. Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a constitutional amendment to strip the governor of many of his emergency powers.
Governors argue that they need authority to act quickly in a crisis, and restrictions can slow response to critical emergencies.
In South Carolina, the state health agency said the variant was found in one person from the coastal region of the state and another in the northeast corner. The state gave little other information, citing privacy issues, although Traxler said none of the people were contagious anymore.
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“Both were tested very early in the month and I understand that both are going well,” said Traxler.
Republican Henry McMaster, Governor of South Carolina, lifted most of the state’s remaining pandemic restrictions in the fall. Spokesperson Brian Symmes said McMaster has no plans to impose any new restrictions based on the discovery of the variant.
“This is important information for the South Carolina people to have,” McMaster said in a tweet, “but it is not cause for alarm.”
Scientists reported preliminary signs last week that some of the recent mutations may modestly slow the effectiveness of two vaccines, although they stressed that the injections still protect against the disease. There are also signs that some of the new mutations could undermine tests for the virus and decrease the effectiveness of certain treatments.
The coronavirus has already sickened millions of people and killed approximately 430,000 people in the United States.
While the introduction of vaccines has been slow, President Joe Biden has pledged to give 100 million injections in his first 100 days in the office – and suggested the US could potentially hit 1.5 million injections a day.
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While some European countries are conducting extensive genetic testing to detect these variants, the US has done little of this detective work. But scientists have been quick to try to do more, which has revealed the more contagious variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported at least 315 cases of the variant discovered in the UK in the United States. Those reports come from at least 28 states, and health officials think it could become the dominant species in the US in March. This variant has been reported in at least 70 countries.
The first US case of the variant found in Brazil was announced by health officials in Minnesota earlier this week. It was a person who recently traveled to that South American country. That version of the virus has surfaced in more than half a dozen countries.
The variant first found in South Africa was discovered in October. It has since been found in at least 30 other countries.
Some tests suggest that the South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibody drugs or antibody-rich blood from COVID-19 survivors, both of which help people fight the virus.
Health officials are also concerned that if the virus changes enough, people could get COVID-19 a second time.
Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions for most non-US travelers from Brazil, the UK and South Africa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans avoid travel.
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Stobbe reported from New York.
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