The third confirmed coronavirus variant is reported in Texas

DALLAS – A third confirmed case of a variant of the coronavirus 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 United Kingdom and known as B.1.1.7.

Texas is one of the few 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 disease and that current vaccines are still expected to be effective.

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

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

The state health service 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.