More cases of B.1.1.7 variant reported in South Texas Corpus Christi Caller Times Two more people in Nueces County were infected with the more contagious and lethal COVID-19 variant that originated in the United Kingdom, bringing the county’s total to three. The Texas Department of State Health Services notified the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District of the two additional cases on Thursday, a news release said. The first case of the B.1.1.7 variant in the county was reported in January, and the person recovered that month. Public health director Annette Rodriguez said the other two people tested positive at the end of February and the beginning of March, and contact tracing showed their cases were the result of community spread.