WHO: Corona: Signs of spread of variant XBB.1.5
WHO
Corona: signs of spread of variant XBB.1.5
The Omicron subline XBB.1.5 will also become the dominant variant in Germany in the coming months. photo
© Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
The new variant in the north-east of the USA was already noticed in October – now the Omicrom sub-line XBB.1.5 is on the rise in Europe. Anything to worry about?
The subline XBB.1.5 of the coronavirus variant Omicron is after WHO-Indications also on the rise in Europe. Recent data from some countries in the region are beginning to point to the increasing presence of XBB.1.5, WHO Regional Office Europe Director Hans Kluge said at an online press conference in Copenhagen. Cases would be discovered in small but growing numbers. We are working to assess the potential impact of this. After three long years of the pandemic, one cannot afford any further pressure on the health systems.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had expressed concern last week about the new variant in the northeast of the USA first noticed in October and has dominated the infection process there since mid-December. The Bremen epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb had said that it was relatively safe to say that XBB.1.5 would also become the dominant variant in Germany in the coming months. But there is no cause for great concern.
Regarding the aggravated coronasituation in China, Kluge shared the current assessment by the EU health authority ECDC that the increase in the number of cases there is unlikely to have a major impact on the epidemiological situation in Europe. According to available information, the variants circulating in China are those that have been seen in Europe and elsewhere.
However, one should not become complacent, said clever. It is not unreasonable for countries to take precautionary measures to protect their populations. However, states that introduce precautionary travel measures should ensure that these are science-based, appropriate and non-discriminatory.
