The UK variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in Germany, where it now accounts for more than one in five cases, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday.
“The mutation that was first discovered in the UK is particularly worrying… We have to expect that it will now become the dominant variant here,” said Spahn at a press conference.
Latest studies by Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for public health showed that the UK variant now accounted for “more than 20 to 22 percent of positive cases”, as opposed to just six percent two weeks previously, Spahn said.
“That means that, just as we have seen in other countries, the proportion is doubling every week,” he added.
The rise comes despite Germany partially closing its borders in an attempt to stem the spread of the new variants.
Europe’s biggest economy has been filtering crossings from Austria’s Tyrol region and the Czech Republic since Sunday, prompting criticism from the EU.
Berlin said Monday it would not rule out…