WASHINGTON — A highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom is now in 26 states and has infected at least 308 people, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.
Nearly two-thirds of those cases have been found in Florida and California, according to a public CDC database tracking cases.
“Viruses mutate, and we have always expected that variants would emerge, and we have been looking for them,” Walensky said, speaking during the first coronavirus response team briefing since President Joe Biden took office last week.
