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Charité researcher Christian Drosten
Photo:
MICHAEL KAPPELER / AFP
At first it was only a suspected case in Hesse, now the state government has confirmed: A patient was sick with the omicron mutation of the coronavirus from South Africa.
In the Netherlands, where many planes land at the Amsterdam hub, the authorities named the number of 13 Omikron infected people who had arrived on flights from South Africa during the week.
France, Austria and Australia are also sounding the alarm.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for a lockdown to be prevented through voluntary contact restrictions and appealed to everyone to get vaccinated.
58 percent of the citizens meanwhile consider the current measures to be insufficient, according to a survey for »Bild am Sonntag«.
According to SPIEGEL information, there were only very few suspected cases of the new virus variant among the passengers who returned from South Africa and Namibia at the weekend.
At the airport in Frankfurt am Main, only three incoming passengers from southern Africa were subjected to corresponding rapid tests and they were immediately taken to a nearby hotel.
The responsible health department announced on Sunday that only a much more precise PCR test could clarify whether the incoming passengers were really infected with Covid-19.
And only then can the experts use complex sequencing to determine whether or not they have contracted the new mutant of the virus.
Since the weekend, strict entry regulations have been in place for direct flights from several countries in southern Africa.
For example, Lufthansa and Eurowings are generally only allowed to transport German citizens.
All must have a fresh negative PCR test before travel;
In Germany, this is followed by a 14-day quarantine.
Crisis team: variant probably no longer contain
The health department had sent several teams to Frankfurt Airport over the weekend.
Immediately after the arrival of the direct flights from South Africa or Namibia, the employees ensure that all incoming passengers take a rapid corona test.
The measure also applies to so-called transfer passengers who started in South Africa or Namibia and came to Germany via third countries such as Ethiopia or the Gulf Emirates.
At the weekend, the federal government discussed whether arriving passengers in hotels should be sent to a controlled quarantine.
This compulsory isolation has been in place in China as well as in Great Britain for months.
The idea was rejected because internment in a barracks or a hotel is not legally envisaged.
After a few telephone conferences, the Corona crisis team said that the spread of the new variant could probably no longer be contained.
Nonetheless, compliance with the quarantine must be strictly controlled for returnees from Africa, and this should be once again impressed on the local health authorities.
What do scientists say?
The new mutation has not yet been adequately researched.
Much at Omikron, however, is reminiscent of the initial phase of Delta.
Even with this variant, only a few cases were initially known, but soon afterwards it determined the infection process in many places.
Could it be the same at Omikron - or worse?
How dangerous the omicron mutation is for vaccinated and unvaccinated people is still being investigated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already classified the variant as "worrying".
The data from South Africa also allow initial assessments by scientists and health experts.
An overview of important voices from Germany and worldwide:
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Christian Drosten
Photo: Axel Schmidt / REUTERS
Christian Drosten
, chief virologist at the Berlin Charité: Although the mutation of the virus means that a higher infection rate is conceivable, it has not yet been proven.
From the numbers in South Africa alone, one cannot necessarily infer an increased transferability, also because the infection rate there has recently been greatly reduced and newly occurring outbreaks could appear oversized against a small background.
The geographical origin of Omikron does not have to be in South Africa, explains Drosten: "Bordering countries that have strong travel connections with South Africa have a lower level of virus monitoring than South Africa." In addition, Johannesburg Airport is in the province in which the virus first appeared in South Africa had been noticed.
And what about vaccination protection?
"Based on current judgment, one should assume that the available vaccines will continue to provide protection," said Drosten.
Protection against serious illnesses is particularly robust against virus changes.
"The genome changes indicate that this virus could show an immune escape," explains Drosten.
The case in South Africa also makes it seem plausible that Omikron could bypass an immune defense built up against other Sars-CoV-2 versions: The currently detected infections take place to a very large extent in those who have previously recovered - so people who are already infected were infected with Delta or another variant.
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RKI boss Lothar Wieler
Photo: ADAM BERRY / POOL / EPA
Lothar Wieler
, President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), said: "All people who get vaccinated do not start from scratch when they are infected with a new variant." that it is crucial to know.
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Leif Erik Sander from the Charité
Photo: CHRISTIAN MANG / REUTERS
Leif Erik Sander
, infection immunologist at the Charité: Omikron has many changes in places where the best antibodies can bind.
"But our body forms a huge number of different antibodies." In addition, there are special cells of the immune system that would usually recognize completely different locations than the antibodies.
"Well, we always have a net and a false bottom," said the immunologist.
Carsten Watzl
, Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology (DGFI): Statements about the course of the disease are currently not possible, "we just have too few cases at the moment," says Watzl.
South Africa has different basic requirements - for example a different age structure - than countries like Germany.
In addition, most people in South Africa became infected who had already recovered from another variant, i.e. who already had a certain immune protection.
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Maybe-Health Minister Karl Lauterbach
Photo: Stefanie Loos / AFP
Karl Lauterbach
, doctor and SPD health expert: In view of the information from South Africa, the epidemiologist considers a slight course of Omikron's disease to be possible.
"It would be an early Christmas present if Omicron went easier," wrote Lauterbach on Twitter.
"With so many mutations it would be conceivable."
Lauterbach referred to an article in the British newspaper »Telegraph«: The South African doctor Angelique Coetzee stated that the symptoms of the new virus variant were unusual, but mild.
Coetzee is also the Chair of the South African Medical Association.
According to her own statements, she was the first to point out the possibility of a new virus variant after patients in Pretoria had visited her practice with previously rather unusual corona symptoms.
Ran Balicer
, Corona chief advisor to the Israeli government: In view of the gaps in knowledge about the new mutation, it is better to "act early and strictly," said the scientist on Israeli radio.
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Anthony Fauci
Photo: ALEX WONG / AFP
Anthony Fauci
, advisor to US President Joe Biden, wouldn't be surprised if the Omikron variant soon reached the US.
"We haven't discovered them yet, but if a virus has this level of infection, it will ultimately spread almost everywhere," said the infectious disease expert on NBC.
The UK, meanwhile, was tightening masks and testing requirements for international travelers after two Omicron cases were discovered.
Spain announced that it would stop accepting unvaccinated British visitors from December 1.
They are currently allowed to enter with a negative coronavirus test.
fww / dpa / AFP / Reuters
