Texarkana News Has the Delta variant reached Texarkana region yet? | COVID-19 mutation more contagious than original The Delta variant of COVID-19 is likely here, but local medical labs aren't capable of distinguishing it, officials say. by Andrew Bell Jul. 2 2021 @ 10:21pm TEXARKANA — The Delta variant of COVID-19 is likely here, but local medical labs aren't capable of distinguishing it, officials say. "It's definitely present in all 50 states, but I don't think that our lab capabilities here in Texarkana have the ability to get that specific in terms of which variant they're testing for," said Dr. Loren Robinson, chief medical officer at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System.