BOSTON (WHDH/AP) — Massachusetts is analyzing suspicious COVID-19 samples for the new and apparently more contagious variant of the virus.
Dr. Greg Armstrong, who directs genetic sequencing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the CDC is working with a national lab that gets samples from around the country to broaden the search for the variant, with results expected within days.
He added that California, Massachusetts and Delaware are among the states examining suspicious coronavirus samples.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the nation’s second confirmed case of the coronavirus variant, which was found in Southern California.
He did not provide any details about the person who was infected.
The announcement came 24 hours after word of the first reported U.S. variant infection, which emerged in Colorado.
That person was identified as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. Health officials said a second Guard member may have it too.
The cases triggered a host of questions about how the version circulating in England arrived in the U.S. and whether it is too late to stop it now, with top experts saying it is probably already spreading elsewhere in the United States.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)