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Berlin (dpa) - The more contagious variants of the corona virus are spreading quickly in Germany.
According to new data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the proportion of mutations discovered in Great Britain rose from just under 6 to more than 22 percent within two weeks.
This was announced by Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) in Berlin on Wednesday.
"We have to expect that the variant could soon become the dominant one for us," said Spahn.
The share of the British variant doubles every week.
The mutation, which first appeared in South Africa, also had a share of 1.5 percent in Germany, said Spahn.
The RKI evaluated 23,000 positive test results in a representative sample and other data.
The RKI wanted to provide further details on Wednesday.
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Spahn made it clear that the number of infections had initially decreased further overall.
This shows that the protective measures are working.
Spahn also sees the wider spread of the variants as important for the debate about loosening lockdowns.
This Friday, RKI boss Lothar Wieler and he wanted to give further assessments.
The British virus variant is estimated to be at least 35 percent more contagious than the conventional one.
During the analyzes, not all corona tests are checked for variants.
Experts pointed out regional differences and possible gaps.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210217-99-477290 / 2
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