New COVID variant probably arrived in Germany: minister

440
1
New COVID variant probably arrived in Germany: minister

BERLIN, Nov 27, Reuters - The omicron variant of COVID 19 probably arrived in Germany, a minister in the western state of Hesse said on Saturday after mutations were found in a passenger arriving from South Africa.

Some Omicron-typical mutations were found in a traveller returning from South Africa, Kai Klose, social affairs minister in Hesse, home to Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest hub and one of Europe's busiest airports.

He added that a full sequencing of the variant was being carried out and that the person was isolating, and he urged anyone who had travelled from South Africa in the last few weeks to limit contacts and get tested.

The new variant was found at a time when Germany and many other European countries are grappling with a surge in coronaviruses cases.

Germany recorded 67,125 new coronaviruses on Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said, and more than 100,000 people have died with COVID- 19.

A source told Reuters on Friday that Germany is declaring South Africa a virus-variant area, meaning airlines are allowed to fly only Germans from South Africa to Germany. Even those who are vaccinated must spend 14 days in quarantine.

Dutch health officials said earlier in the day they had detected 61 COVID 19 cases among people who flew from South Africa on Friday and are trying to determine whether they have been infected with the Omicron variant.