Vanderburgh Co. Health Department officials are contact tracing cases of new COVID-19 strain Vanderburgh Co. Health Department officials are contact tracing cases of new COVID-19 strain By Joseph Payton | January 29, 2021 at 7:28 PM CST - Updated January 29 at 7:28 PM EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - On Thursday, Deaconess Health officials confirmed five cases of a new COVID-19 strain have been detected in Evansville. The new strain is being commonly referred to as the “UK variant.” Since those cases were detected, the Vanderburgh County Health Department has sprung into action with the Indiana State Department of Health to contact trace. “We haven’t found any common thread,” said Administrator Joe Gries. “As far as the individuals who might have been at the same location or anything like that, so really not anything that ties back to one person or one event.”