German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned citizens of the serious danger of the mutated coronavirus. She stated this after negotiations with the heads of the FRG regions, which lasted almost eight hours, Interfax reports.
According to her, a new virus strain found in Germany threatens the country. “So far, the epidemiological data collected has indicated that this virus is much more contagious,” the Chancellor said.
Earlier, Merkel extended the tough restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus until February 14. She noted that the reduction in the number of infected is “reason for hope”, but due to the new strain of COVID-19, the restrictions cannot be mitigated yet.
On January 18, a previously unknown mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in Bavaria, due to which there was an outbreak in a local hospital. 52 patients and 21 employees of the clinic have become infected with the new variation of the virus.
According to the latest data, more than 2 million cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in Germany, 1.7 million people recovered, another 48.4 thousand died.