Third confirmed variant of coronavirus reported in Texas

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

The agency reported that a Dallas man in his twenties with no history of travel outside the United States tested positive for the variant first identified in the UK and known as B.1.1. 7.

Texas is one of 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 should 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 a major transport hub, means that there is a 70% more contagious strain in our community and it will grow rapidly, ”said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

Texas reported a Houston-area man as its first case of someone infected with the new variant on January 7.

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