A variant of COVID−19 that has ravaged the U.K. is now in Canada, health officials said Saturday as they announced an Ontario couple had been diagnosed with the contagious new strain. The province’s associate chief medical officer of health said in a news release that the strain of COVID−19 was identified in a couple from Durham Region, just east of Toronto, who have no known travel history, exposure or high−risk contacts. “Durham Region Health Department has conducted case and contact investigation and Ontario is working in collaboration with our federal counterparts at the Public Health Agency of Canada,” Dr. Barbara Yaffe said in a statement. The Public Health Agency of Canada noted that research into the new variant of the virus that causes COVID−19 is ongoing. “While early data suggests that these new variants may be more transmissible, to date there is no evidence that they cause more severe disease …