A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that the U.K. variant of the coronavirus may have arrived sooner and be more widespread in the United States than previously believed.

The CDC examined eight patients from Minnesota who had tested positive for the coronavirus between Dec. 18, 2020, and Jan. 11, 2021, and later identified as having the U.K. variant, also known as SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7.

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