Be careful, a new variant is coming to Europe!
A first case of a variant of the coronavirus, initially spotted in Brazil, was identified for the first time in Germany in a person returning from this country, the authorities of the state of Hesse (west) said on Friday.
This person tested positive Thursday for this variant of the coronavirus, considered highly transmissible, when she returned the same day from Brazil by plane, regional Minister of Social Affairs Kai Klose told reporters.
Several variants detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have worried the international community for a few weeks, which is particularly wondering about their contagiousness and the effectiveness of vaccines against them.
The questions are particularly pronounced for a mutation known as E484K, common to the South African and Brazilian variants.
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The variant appeared in Brazil was also detected in Japan in 4 people from Brazil, according to the WHO.
Virologist Sandra Ciesek, one of Germany's best-known scientists on the novel coronavirus, said Frankfurt University Hospital was informed Thursday that an infected and asymptomatic person was on board a flight from Brazil.
Detailed sequencing of her test is still underway, she said.
Germany has already recorded isolated cases of the so-called British and South African coronavirus mutations on its territory.
The country crossed the threshold of 50,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 on Friday since the start of the pandemic.
