Third confirmed coronavirus variant reported in Texas

DALLAS – A third confirmed case of a coronavirus variant was reported Saturday in Texas by Dallas County Health and Human Services.

The agency reported that a Dallas man in his 20s with no travel history outside the United States tested positive for the variant first identified in the UK and known as B.1.1.7.

Texas is among a handful of states with at least one known case of the new variant, but state health officials say there is no evidence that it causes more serious illness and that current vaccines will still be effective.

“The emergence of the B.1.1.7 strain, although inevitable given the mobility of the modern world and the fact that we are an important transportation hub, means that there is a strain that is 70% more contagious in our community and will grow rapidly”, said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

Texas reported a man from the Houston area as his first case of a person infected with the new variant on January 7.

The state health department on Saturday reported more than 240,000 new cases and 381 additional deaths and reported more than 2 million cases and more than 31,000 deaths since the pandemic began.