The governor of Maryland confirmed that a Baltimore area man has contracted the South African variant of the coronavirus, making Maryland the second state with a confirmed case, CNN reports. Two people in South Carolina were confirmed with the same strain two days ago.
The patient in Maryland had not traveled out of the country or had any contact with the two other known cases, making the infection likely due to community transmission.
“Comprehensive contact tracing efforts are underway to ensure that potential contacts are quickly identified, quarantined, and tested,” Governor Larry Hogan stated in a media release.