The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's airport screening program has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, which has been linked to a large surge of the virus in China. Cases linked to the NB.1.8.1 variant have been reported in arriving international travelers at airports in California, Washington state, Virginia and the New York City area, according to records uploaded by the CDC's airport testing partner Ginkgo Bioworks.

The first laboratory-confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the US was confirmed on January 20, 2020, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1. The new variant has been linked to a spike in cases in China with a CDC spokesperson confirming the findings to Fox News Digital, which were discovered during the agency's airport screening.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, which has been linked to a spike in cases in China. A CDC spokesperson confirmed the findings to Fox News Digital, but said there had been too few cases for the strain to be included in the agency’s COVID Data Tracker. "There have been fewer than 20 sequences of NB.1.8.1 in the U.S. baseline surveillance data to date, so it has not met the threshold for inclusion in the COVID Data Tracker dashboard," a CDC spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "We monitor all SARS-CoV-2 sequences, and if it increases in proportion, it will appear on the Data Tracker dashboard." A CDC map showing COVID-19 cases detected through wastewater (sewage) testing indicates that most states are seeing either low or very low levels of the virus. The only state experiencing a high level of viral activity, according to CDC data, is South Dakota.

The US CDC’s airport screening has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, linked to a surge in China and spreading across Asia. While more contagious, the variant isn’t thought to cause more severe illness, prompting health officials to recommend masks and boost vaccines.

CDC has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 as part of its airport screening program. The new variant has been linked to a spike in cases in China. The first laboratory-confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the US was confirmed on January 20, 2020.