German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives wearing a protective mask for a press conference on the current situation in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. On Thursday, Germany’s disease control center said that 20,398 new cases were reported over the past 24 hours, nearly 5,000 fewer than a week ago. The new variant, which has been detected in Germany and many other European countries, isn't yet dominant there, but “we must take the danger from this mutation very seriously,” Merkel told reporters. “Then it would be too late to prevent a third wave of the pandemic, and possibly an even heavier one than before. She pointed to Britain's experience in December, when the new variant took hold.