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Frankfurt / Hamburg (dpa) - In order to slow down the spread of coronavirus variants from other countries, scientists believe that a Europe-wide plan is needed.

The Frankfurt virologist Sandra Ciesek and others are calling for, among other things, uniform rules for immigrants in the specialist journal “The Lancet”.

"We have to try to delay the spread of the variants in Germany," said Ciesek on Tuesday in the NDR podcast "Coronavirus Update".

"That can only work across Europe - because we don't live in isolation on an island."

So far, mutations of the coronavirus from Great Britain, South Africa and Brazil have been detected in Germany.

The variant from Great Britain is certainly more contagious, said the director of the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital Frankfurt / Main.

Whether it is also more deadly, “cannot be assessed at the moment”.

Because of the greater proximity, many contacts and different traffic routes, it is hardly possible to stop this variant.

But one can and must slow down the spread.

The two - more similar - variants from Brazil and South Africa are hardly widespread in Germany, said Ciesek.

All cases are "imported", there are no known follow-up infections.

Since these mutations could only be introduced via airports, you have better chances here: "If you consistently test, follow up and are in quarantine, I think you have a chance that you can contain it for a while."

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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210126-99-181165 / 2