U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez

Three positive Covid-19 cases in Fresno County have been confirmed as the U.K. variant, or the B.1.1.7 strain. The variant was first discovered in the U.K. on Dec. 14, 2020.

“I actually didn’t expect to have this information as soon as we did,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer for the Fresno County Department of Public Health, on a media call Friday.

Fresno County has been requesting the state test 1% of all positive Covid-19 cases, and received word today that there are variant cases circulating.

“Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Vohra.

But Vohra assumes these variants have been circulating in the community before there was official confirmation.

“The variants are here. I don’t think that should surprise anyone,” he said.

The three individuals have been contact-traced. The positive cases were originally detected in late February to earlier this month.

The news comes as many in the community expect Fresno County to soon leave the restrictive red tier of Covid-19 restrictions, allowing indoor dining and gym operations, as Tulare County did this week.

Vohra also mentioned that there is no data available that shows the amount of positive Covid-19 tests that tested negative for the U.K. variant.

B.1.1.7. is the most dominant variant found in the United States as well as California. It is more contagious than the original strain of Covid-19. There is no known difference in clinical outcomes between variants, but since the U.K. variant is more transmissible, cases can spread more easily.