German Chancellor Angela Merkel's top aid Helge Braun stated Sunday that the country must bring down coronavirus infections in the next few weeks or risk new virus mutations that are resistant to vaccines.
“We are in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic,” Braun told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "The next few weeks will determine whether we can foreseeably get the pandemic under control."
Moreover, Braun said if the number of infections rises rapidly again, there is going to be a growing danger that the next virus mutation will become resistant to the vaccine.
"Then we would need new vaccines, then we would have to start vaccinating all over again," he added.
Merkel’s chief of staff called for imposing strict measures and night-time curfews in regions where the number of cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days is more than 100, in order to curb the virus' spread.
"That's where regional curfews in the evening and at night can help, because we have the highest infection rates at meetings in people's homes," he clarified.
Furthermore, he stressed the importance of testing in reducing virus transmission, urging firms to compulsorily test their workers twice a week.
It’s said that the infections have risen sharply in Germany in recent weeks, driven by a more transmissible variant of the virus and moves to ease some restrictions.
On Saturday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 20,472, while the reported death toll rose by 157, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.
Follow the latest news on Google News
