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London / Berlin (dpa) - Because of the new variant of the corona virus discovered in Great Britain, the country is increasingly isolated.

Since Monday, until December 31st, planes from Great Britain are no longer allowed to land in Germany in order to prevent the spread of the mutation, which the British have classified as particularly aggressive.

Numerous other countries also stopped entry from Great Britain - but by no means all.

From EU circles it was said in the afternoon that so far only 15 of the 27 member states had taken foreclosure measures of various types and lengths.

This is also problematic for Germany because it allows entry from Great Britain to Germany via other EU countries.

Within the Schengen area, to which most of the EU countries belong, the borders remained largely open during the second corona wave.

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A crisis meeting of the EU countries remained without concrete results on Monday.

After the meeting, which lasted several hours, it was said that the participants had exchanged information on the national measures imposed so far.

It was mainly about the transport of passengers and freight from Great Britain.

Participants had asked the EU Commission to present guidelines for swift and coordinated action.

The return of people from Great Britain to the EU was also an issue.

Germany, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU states, had scheduled the crisis meeting.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council Chairman Charles Michel discussed the situation in a phone call.

The federal government had ordered the entry stop on Sunday to protect the population in Germany and "to limit the entry and rapid spread of the new virus variants".

Individual cases of the mutation have apparently already occurred in the EU, for example in Italy.

Spahn mentioned cases in Denmark on ZDF, which, according to the Danish authorities, are under control.

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Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for a joint reaction from the European Union.

This is to prevent an entry stop being circumvented via other EU member states.

The SPD politician spoke of a “substantially changed risk assessment” in Great Britain.

"In the end, we do not have any final information to make a final assessment, but we have to be careful."

According to initial findings by British scientists, the mutation discovered in Great Britain is up to 70 percent more contagious than the previously known form could be.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had stressed that there was no evidence that vaccines against the mutation were less effective.

The form is spreading rapidly, especially in London and south-east England.

World Medical President Frank Ulrich Montgomery doubted the British statements about the new Corona variant.

"You should treat all information from Mr. Johnson with extreme caution," he told the editorial network Germany (RND / Tuesday).

"If the statement is true anyway, it only means that our protective measures are 70 percent more important."

Montgomery stressed that it does not necessarily affect the effectiveness of the vaccinations.

The pharmaceutical company Biontech alone has already tested its vaccine for 19 mutations of the corona virus, and the agent has worked with each of these variants.

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An aggressive virus variant has also appeared in South Africa.

The flight connections from there to Germany have not yet been cut.

However, the federal government is planning a corresponding ordinance.

Initially, there were flights from there to Germany.

The question of a return campaign like in the spring, when tens of thousands of German tourists were flown out of dozens of countries in an unprecedented campaign, is therefore not currently an issue, said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office.

The Germans stuck in Great Britain would, however, have to prepare for "considerable restrictions".

"We recommend those affected to stay on-site if possible and observe the situation."

Of the passengers from Great Britain who arrived at Hamburg Airport on Sunday, seven tested positive for the corona virus.

An infection has also been confirmed in a passenger in Hanover.

Further laboratory tests should now clarify whether the passengers were infected with the new, possibly particularly contagious virus variant, said the Hanover region.

Unlike in Hamburg, the 62 passengers from London had to spend the night in a terminal at Hanover Airport.

Lufthansa continues to fly passengers to Great Britain, but returns without travelers.

Apart from the crew, the machines flew empty back to Germany, said an airline spokesman on Monday.

Connections where the crew would have to stay overnight in Great Britain have been deleted.

Seven flights would be made into the country on Monday.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201221-99-776711 / 2

European Health Agency ECDC on the Corona situation in Europe