German hospital under quarantine over more infections coronavirus variant

A general night view of the Vivantes Humboldt hospital which is under quarantine due to infections with a new coronavirus variant, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany, January 23, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

German health authorities put a Berlin hospital under quarantine after 20 patients and staff members tested positive for a more infectious variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and spreading fast around the world, officials said on Saturday.

The number of people at the Humboldt hospital infected with the more infectious B117 variant was likely to rise further in the coming days, a spokeswoman of public hospital operator Vivantes told Reuters.

The quarantine decision means that the Humboldt hospital in the German capital will not admit any new patients.

An information board of the Vivantes Humboldt hospital which is under quarantine due to infections with a new coronavirus variant, is pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany, January 23, 2021. The board reads, "Visitor rules, help inhibit the spread of coronavirus and protect yourself and others. From this moment on we unfortunately no longer welcome visitors in the hospital". REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

"New patients and emergencies will be redirected to other hospitals," the spokeswoman said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Thursday to stop complaining about the slow roll-out of a vaccine against COVID-19, and defended a decision to extend a lockdown as necessary to stem the more aggressive variant.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Alex Richardson)