According to the RKI, the coronavirus variant BA.2.86 has now been detected in Germany for the first time. It is already being monitored by the WHO – and has previously occurred in other countries.
The relatively heavily mutated corona variant BA.2.86 was detected for the first time in Germany. The Influenza Working Group at the Robert Koch Institute reports this in its weekly report. The hit is dated to the week ending August 27th.
This variant has been under special observation by the World Health Organization (WHO) since mid-August. It had already been found in a number of other countries.
Rising Infection numbers
The RKI reports increasing numbers of acute respiratory infections in Germany since the week ending July 9th, accompanied by an increase in laboratory-confirmed cases of Sars-CoV-2.
According to the RKI, around 6,780 Covid cases were reported last week, more than three times as many as in the first week of August. A high number of unreported cases that have not been confirmed in the laboratory can be assumed.
Virologist “relatively relaxed”
In many places there is now less testing than at the height of the pandemic, and tests for virus variants are also much rarer. Virologist Sandra Ciesek said last week that there were still many questions unanswered about BA.2.86, also known as Pirola. She saw proof in this country as a matter of time.
As long as Omicron is circulating, it is relatively relaxed, said Ciesek. She then sees no danger that the situation will change significantly or that government measures will be imposed again.