German health official warns of further spread of coronavirus variants

BERLIN (Reuters) - A more contagious coronavirus variant that was first detected in Britain currently accounts for just under 6% of cases in Germany, a senior health official said on Friday.

However, Lothar Wieler, chief of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, warned that it was to be expected that the variant will spread further. The situation is still not under control, he said at a news conference.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley, Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Maria Sheahan)