Analysis of more than 23,000 PCR tests shows that the variant already accounted for more than 22 per cent of all new infections in Germany
A passerby wearing a protective mask is seen in front of the entrance to a shopping mall with closed shops in Munich, southern Germany. Pic/AFP
The more contagious variants of Coronavirus are spreading rapidly in Germany, Minister of Health Jens Spahn told journalists here. In particular, the variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) is “causing us concern,” Spahn said. “We must expect that variant to soon become the dominant one in our country as well”, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and laboratories in Germany have analysed more than 23,000 positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The results showed that the variant identified in the UK already accounted for more than 22 per cent of all new infections, according to Spahn.
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Two weeks ago, the share of the variant known as B.1.1.7 in the examined samples stood at six per cent only, the RKI said. “As has been observed in other countries, the share of infections with this variant of the virus doubles around every week,” Spahn said.
Germany’s daily Coronavirus infection figures remained below the previous week’s level on Wednesday. A total of 7,556 new infections within one day were recorded, according to RKI. To date, more than 2.35 million infections have been registered in Germany since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Although the Coronavirus variants continued to spread in Germany, Spahn noted that it was “encouraging” that the infection numbers were declining, showing that the anti-virus measures were working. However, in view of the rapid spread of variants, it remains important to be “very careful” with lockdown relaxations. Germany entered a lockdown in November last year shortly after the second Coronavirus wave hit the country.
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