US reports over 10K COVID variant cases

The US has so far recorded more than 10,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus variants leading to health experts warning of another resurgence in the worst-hit country in the world.

Among the total 10,985 variant cases reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of Sunday, 10,579 of them were caused by the variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected in Britain late last year, reports Xinhua news agency.

There were 288 cases of a new strain initially discovered in South Africa, called B.1.351, and 118 cases of the P.1 strain first discovered in Brazil.

In addition, the B.1.427 and B.1.429 variants, two coronavirus strains first detected in California, are also being closely monitored by the CDC.

The five coronavirus strains are currently classified by the CDC as “variants of concern”, as evidence shows an increase in their transmissibility, increased hospitalisations or deaths, significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.

Experts have repeatedly expressed concern that the country would face another surge in Covid-19 cases if Americans did not keep protective measures such as wearing masks, avoiding travel, and continuing social distancing until more people are vaccinated. Odisha TV