As multiple COVID-19 virus variants are being detected in the state of California, Alameda County health officials identified possible cases of a new variant of the coronavirus that was discovered in the United Kingdom.

As first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, health officials announced Tuesday that there are six confirmed or suspected cases of the variant, which has been said to be highly infectious. The cases are currently under investigation, according to health officials.

While the variant has been found in other regions of California, these six cases are the first to be identified in the Bay Area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s United States variant data, 113 cases of the variant have been identified in California as of press time.

In a Tuesday update from the state’s COVID-19 tracker, the state has a total of 3,270,770 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The state has also seen a 1% increase in COVID-19 related deaths, resulting in 41,330 deaths total.

Alameda County health officials said, however, due to the variant’s higher percentage of transmission, it is likely other cases have not yet been identified due to the lack of information and testing. As the state works to continue identifying new variants, it is expected that cases related to these variants will increase.

Check back for updates.