To prevent the coronavirus mutant B.1.1.7. In Berlin, the Humboldt Clinic was quarantined on Friday evening on the instructions of the Reinickendorf Health Department.
By Saturday noon, 14 confirmed cases among hospital staff and patients had been counted. Experts assume that a mid-double-digit number of clinic employees and patients could already be infected with the mutant. Relatives of the clinic staff could already be affected, and internal assessments suggest that established symptoms speak for themselves.
Reinickendorf’s medical officer Patrick Larscheid pulled the rip cord on Friday. The Robert Koch Institute is involved in the measures and advises clinics and authorities. The Humboldt Clinic of the state-owned clinic group has been deregistered from the ambulance service since Friday, and no more emergencies are recorded. An admission freeze was imposed.
The hospital staff has been placed under so-called shuttle quarantine, employees are only allowed to commute between work and home and otherwise have to adhere to quarantine rules. According to Tagesspiegel information, they are not allowed to use buses and trains. The already restricted access to the clinic has been tightened: Visits are only possible from relatives of the dying, delivery services and craftsmen are also no longer allowed.
The clinic and the experts entrusted with the case speak of a painful step because emergency and health care in the north of Berlin is now limited. But that was necessary, it said. It is not just about protecting patients and staff, but about protecting the entire capital, said the team that is supposed to get the mutant outbreak under control.
Crisis meeting with Kalayci and RKI on Saturday
Everything must now be done so that the spread of the Corona mutant in Berlin “does not explode”. On Saturday afternoon there should be a crisis switching conference with Health Senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) with representatives of the RKI, Vivantes, the district and the rescue service.
You’re still at the very beginning. It is now about getting an overview of how much the corona mutant has already spread in the clinic. All patients and employees should now be tested.
If the test is positive, the sample is sequenced in order to identify the possible B.1.1.7. Mutant. Only when the experts from the RKI, the clinic and the health department have an overview should a decision be made about further steps. That would take a few more days, it said.
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The mutation B.1.1.7 had appeared in the southeastern county of Kent at the end of last year and had spread rapidly in London and parts of the country. In the meantime it has also been proven in Germany.
Mutant increases the risk of infection for staff
It is considered to be significantly more contagious than the original form, even if this and the extent of the higher infectivity have not yet been conclusively scientifically proven. Such variants would also be manageable with consistent quarantine.
In hospitals, for example, where infected people are treated and where even with the consistent use of masks, hygiene and ventilation, a certain amount of viruses always gets into the air, such a mutant increases the risk of infection, especially for staff.
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B.1.1.7 could also be problematic if it is confirmed that the variant also leads to increased mortality. There is not enough data on this yet, but there are clear indications. This possibility is also considered plausible.
Because higher infectivity means that the viruses are more efficient at penetrating human cells. This then probably also applies to the further spread within the body. It can mean that the virus can multiply faster than the original variant, reducing the likelihood that the immune system can respond in a timely and appropriate manner.
Unlike other mutants that were first detected in Brazil or South Africa, for example, the currently available vaccines seem to be just as effective against B.1.1.7 as against the variants against which they were developed. However, there is no definite certainty here either.
