Covid-19: “It’s only a matter of time before mutations dominate”

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, He warned that sooner or later aggressive coronavirus mutations would take the lead in Germany, threatening to unleash progress made in containing the pandemic.

The greatest saving of Europe it must maintain strict controls, even as infection rates are steadily falling and vaccinations slowly increase, Merkel said Thursday. The rapidly expanding British variant is already present in the country, and strains from Brazil and South Africa are also a risk, he added.

“Experts tell us it will only be a matter of time before these changes become dominant,” Merkel said in a speech to Parliament in Berlin. “We know the danger of mutations can ruin our progress again“.

Under pressure from heads of state, the chancellor agreed on Wednesday evening to ease some restrictions to contain the virus and pave the way for a return to some normalcy after months of tight restrictions. Elections are approaching and Merkel’s term is coming to an end, so political positioning has played an important role in Germany’s efforts to contain the disease.

“We are not very far from the contagion figures which could make freedom and a reopening step by step possible “Merkel argued. “It is worth sticking with all the measures and deprivations until March 7, keeping the mutations under control and hopefully achieving a seven-day incidence rate well below 50, at My opinion.

The slow pace of vaccination this makes the country more vulnerable to a possible further increase in rapidly expanding variants. Germany has so far administered just over 4 doses per 100 people, according to Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. This compares to 14 doses in the United States and more than 20 in Britain, although both countries started several weeks earlier.