Officials: South Africa CCP Virus Variant Reported in US for the First Time

A staff member in protective gear moves luggage before members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19 pandemic leave their quarantine hotel in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, Jan. 28, 2021. Thomas Peter/Reuters

The first cases of a more contagious CCP virus variant that was discovered in South Africa have been found in South Carolina, health officials confirmed Jan. 28.

The South African variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, is known as B.1.351.