US reports at least 944 cases of new coronavirus strains

At least 944 cases of coronavirus strains first spotted in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the United States, CNN reported citing US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention data (CDC) on Tuesday (local time).

The vast majority of these cases, 932 has been found in 34 states of US, including 343 cases in Florida, 156 in California and 59 in New York. This variant is known as B.1.1.7, which was first detected in the UK.

There are nine cases of a strain initially seen in South Africa, called B.1.351 six in Maryland, two in South Carolina and one in Virginia.

Meanwhile, the P.1 strain first linked to Brazil, has been discovered in two cases in Minnesota and one in Oklahoma.

According to the CDC, this does not represent the total number of such cases circulating in the US, but rather just those that have been found by analyzing positive samples. The agency cautions that its numbers may not immediately match those of state and local health departments.

( With inputs from ANI )