A third confirmed variant of coronavirus is reported in Texas

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

The agency reported that a twenty-year-old Dallas man with no history of travel outside the United States tested positive for the variant first identified in the United Kingdom 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 illnesses and that current vaccines are expected to be effective.

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

Texas reported a man in the Houston area as the first case of a person infected with the new variant on Jan. 7.

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