COVID-19: Germany classifies UK a coronavirus risk area

Berlin: Germany on Friday classified Britain as a coronavirus risk area due to the emergence there of a highly infectious variant first detected in India.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India may impact the country’s full exit from restrictions.

Accelerating vaccinations

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said: “The (risk area) classification is made despite a 7-day incidence of less than 50/100,000 inhabitants due to the at least limited occurrence of variant B.1.617.2 in the United Kingdom.” Britain is considering accelerating vaccinations in areas where the India variant has been found.

It has delivered one of the world’s fastest inoculation campaigns, giving a first shot to almost 70% of adults and a second to 36%, helping to reduce infection rates and deaths.