US State of South Carolina confirms two cases of S. African COVID-19 variant

The US state of South Carolina has confirmed the first two known cases in the United States of the South African novel coronavirus strain, the state's Health Department said in a press release on Thursday.

"The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announced today the detection of two cases associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant that first emerged recently in South Africa. These are the first two cases of this variant in the United States," the release said.

The release said the two patients who contracted the South African coronavirus strain have no known travel history and no connection between each other.

The spread of new coronavirus variants has raised fears over the efficacy of already-developed vaccines against the disease. Public health officials in many countries have said that there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the new strains will undermine ongoing mass immunization campaigns. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )