Only one day after a new, worrying Corona variant became known, the mutation known as Omikron arrived in Germany. Two cases have been confirmed beyond doubt in Munich. If there is a suspected case in Frankfurt, certainty is expected on Monday.
In Munich, the first two cases of the worrying omicron variant of the coronavirus in Germany have been confirmed. The two travelers arrived on November 24 with a flight from South Africa, said Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) on Saturday. Those affected had arranged an investigation for the virus variant themselves after learning of the danger from the media.
Hesse’s Minister of Social Affairs, Kai Klose (Greens), announced another suspected case on Saturday. In the case of a returnee from South Africa, several mutations typical for this variant were found. The fully vaccinated person reportedly entered Frankfurt Airport on November 21, before the first indications of the variant from South Africa had become public, and had developed symptoms over the course of the week. In this case, an exact result is expected on Monday.
Munich: Entrants from southern Africa have to be in quarantine – including those who have been vaccinated
The Bavarian Ministry of Health asked passengers who came from South Africa on the same flight on November 24 to report immediately to their local health department. All people who have traveled from South Africa in the past 14 days should immediately reduce their contacts, take a PCR test with details of their travel history and contact the health department immediately.
In addition, all people who travel from the areas in southern Africa classified as virus variant areas by the Robert Koch Institute must be in quarantine for 14 days – this also applies regardless of their vaccination status. “We have to do everything we can to prevent the new variant from spreading in the Free State and in Germany,” said a ministry spokeswoman in Munich. It is not yet clear whether the new variant is actually more contagious and leads to more hospital stays. “Until science sees more clearly, we have to exercise caution,” emphasized the spokeswoman.
From the Lufthansa plane from Cape Town that landed in Munich on Friday evening, 50 people are in quarantine in Bavaria. The aircraft was occupied with around 300 passengers. Two PCR tests were positive, as the ministry had previously announced. It is still unclear whether these passengers also carry the new Omicron virus variant.
Omicron variant: “It was only a matter of time”
“As with the previous coronavirus variants, it was only a matter of time before we got the Omikron variant,” said Frankfurt health department head Stefan Majer (Greens). The variant (B.1.1.529), which was first detected in southern Africa, was classified as “worrying” by the World Health Organization (WHO). The EU health authority ECDC speaks of serious concerns that the variant could significantly reduce the effectiveness of the corona vaccines and increase the risk of reinfections. The exact effects of the variant have not yet been determined.
Because of the variant, the federal government is classifying South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi and Lesotho as virus variant areas from Sunday, midnight, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Friday evening. Airlines are essentially only allowed to carry German citizens or people living in Germany from there to Germany. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.
Source From: Stern
