The Tennessee Department of Health on Thursday confirmed the diagnosis of the first cases of the highly contagious U.K. novel coronavirus variant, one of at least 21 states to report cases of the variant since it was first detected in the U.S. last month. Health Department spokesman Bill Christian originally said five cases of the B.1.1.7 strain had been identified in the state but, in a later email, he corrected that number and said two were confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Thursday. A total of seven specimens have been sent to the CDC for confirmation. Christian did not say where the new strain had been detected, and a follow-up email was not immediately returned.