Germany detects first infection with new strain of coronavirus

The first infected in Germany for the new strain of coronavirus was registered in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the Ministry of Social Policy and State Integration reported today, on a day when the number of new infections reached a record high of over 33 000 in one day.

The mutant strain was detected in a passenger on a plane that arrived from the UK on December 20.

A rapid test carried out after landing showed a positive result and the next day another test was carried out, also with a positive result, while the patient had mild symptoms.

Samples from the infected woman have been delivered to the National Advisory Laboratory for the coronavirus.

“Today came the result which confirmed the infection with the new strain of coronavirus B.1.1.7 ”, reported the Ministry of Baden-Württemberg in a press release reproduced by the Sputnik news agency.

The patient and three people who have had contact with her are isolated.

On December 19, British health authorities confirmed the presence in southern British territory of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 which is spreading faster and could be 70% more contagious.

There is currently no evidence that this mutation affects the severity of symptoms, the case fatality rate, the antibody response or the effectiveness of vaccines.

Meanwhile, Christmas Eve was announced today silently Germany amid a near-record number of new cases, warnings of fines for violating restrictions and queuing outside a closed nightclub to be tested for the virus.

Few people were seen around Berlin doing last-minute Christmas shopping, and the streets of the capital looked much more empty than usual on a day when shops close earlier for the country’s biggest family vacation.

Berlin’s Kitkat Club nightclub was closed due to detention, and a group of people lined up outside its doors to be tested for the coronavirus.

The president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, said tests may fail to detect infection in some people and it can have fatal consequences in others.

And, he warned that the population should avoid “a false sense of security,” German news agency DPA reported.

In the southern federal state of Bavaria, the richest in the country and one of the hardest hit by the winter increase in cases and deaths, police today threatened those who violate them with fines of 500 euros. a curfew that applies between 9 p.m. and 5.

German health authorities today reported 32,195 new cases and 802 deaths, just below the record 33,777 infections on December 18 and the 962 deaths yesterday.

Germany plans to launch its vaccination campaign against coronavirus next Sunday.

The first to be vaccinated will be those over 80 years old, front-line health workers and geriatric caregivers.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in his Christmas message today that the pandemic “had canceled plans and ruined dreams” with many people dead alone and others still fighting for their lives in the units of intensive care.

The head of state urged the citizen to comply with the restrictions and added that the vaccination had turned on “the long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel”.