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With a view to the spread of more contagious Covid-19 mutations, the Federal Cabinet made a clear decision last week: laboratories were obliged to examine the virus genome more often.

Depending on the incidence, between five and ten percent of the positive PCR tests should be checked for the mutations.

For some experts, this approach does not go far enough: In Cologne, Germany's fourth largest city, they are now going a big step further.

As WELT learned, since the beginning of the week, without exception, every positive PCR test has been checked to see whether it is a new Sars-CoV-2 variant.

Florian Klein, director of the Institute for Virology at the University Clinic in Cologne, contacted the city administration and offered to carry out appropriate tests in the University Clinic's laboratories.

Private laboratories also agreed to participate in the new test strategy.

Jens Spahn explains the new tightening of the lockdown

Even if the number of cases improves, concerns about highly contagious mutations remain.

Here you can see a statement by Health Minister Jens Spahn on the resolutions of the latest Corona summit.

Source: WORLD

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When asked by WELT, Klein said: “The newly emerging virus variants present us with further challenges in the pandemic, and their spread must be prevented or slowed down as much as possible.

In the laboratory, we can recognize the variants within a short time and thus make the information available.

The colleagues from the health department can react quickly and interrupt chains of infection. "

In the current phase of the pandemic, around 200 people from Cologne are tested positive every day.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Klein and his team have checked a total of 411 samples for the presence of a virus mutation, including suspected cases that were sent from other laboratories.

The test was successful in 19 cases.

In 15 cases it was variant B.1.1.7, which was first recognized in England, and in four cases it was B.1351, a variant which first appeared in South Africa.

The numbers show that the virus is already relatively common in Cologne.

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Alexander Vogel, spokesman for the city of Cologne, said of the new test strategy: “It is important to know as much as possible about the virus so that we can fight it effectively.

Containing the 'normal' virus does not succeed at the speed at which it is necessary. "

A look at Great Britain shows the consequences of the spread of the much more contagious mutant.

If the incidence figure allows the measures in Cologne to be relaxed in a few weeks, “we should know as much as possible about the spread and danger of mutants.

Even a few cases that go undetected could cause the number of infections to skyrocket again in a short time, "says Vogel.

Comprehensive testing has been largely dispensed with elsewhere.

All that is known from Berlin, for example, is that three cases have been found in one clinic.

This was reported by the “Tagesspiegel”.

There is also the case of a student who brought the virus from Great Britain on a Christmas visit and then infected her family.

How far the variants have spread in the capital is unclear.