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Hanover (dpa / lni) - In contrast to neighboring Bremen, Lower Saxony is not planning any nationwide tests for variant B.1.1.7 of the corona virus.
So far, three cases from the Vechta district and nine cases from the Göttingen district are known, as the State Health Office (NLGA) in Hanover announced on Thursday upon request.
However, it can be assumed that there are further infections with the mutant in the country, "which are not known and for which there is no direct connection with a stay in Great Britain," said an NLGA spokesman.
Bremen's Senator for Health Claudia Bernhard (Die Linke) announced on Wednesday that all positive coronavirus samples there would now also be tested for the so-called British variant B.1.1.7.
There is a well-founded concern that the mutation will be transmitted more easily and faster and with a higher viral load.
The NLGA pointed out, however, that according to a federal ordinance, reimbursement of costs for testing for mutations is only possible for five to ten percent of positive samples.
In the case of a larger outbreak, there is also no need to test every sample for the mutation, because it is very likely that the infections are due to the same variant.
In the course of the first half of February, the NLGA will be able to carry out the sequencing to identify mutations itself.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210128-99-209566 / 2