On Jan. 30, Maryland state officials confirmed the South African variant’s existence via their Department of Health after consulting the CDC. The virus strain is still being investigated and appears to be more transmissible than other variants. But so far, there hasn’t been conclusive evidence to shown that it causes more severity in the illness or risk of death. The case implicates an adult residing in the Baltimore metro region who has not traveled outside the country. Authorities are tracing his potential contacts to test and quarantine. “State health officials are closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state,” Gov. Hogan said in a release. “We strongly encourage Marylanders to practice extra caution to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant. As Cases in California Fall, More People Than Ever Dying An average of 544 Californians died every day in the last week from the …