HOUSTON – The highly contagious COVID-19 variant strand, first found in the United Kingdom, is being reported in Harris County and the state of Texas, according to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Hidalgo tweeted, “We’ve confirmed the FIRST Texas case of the more contagious, ‘British’ #COVID19 strand #B117 in Harris County. Do your part.”NEW: We’ve confirmed the FIRST Texas case of the more contagious, “British” #COVID19 strand #B117 in Harris County. The Harris County Public Health also confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, saying it is the first known case in the county and state. The infected patient is a man between the ages of 30-40 years old in southwest Harris County and has had no history of traveling.