Corona: rki reports numbers ++ taliban offer corona asylum

Corona: RKI reports numbers – nearly 120.000 new infections

Corona easing: Austria’s new phased plan

Despite high infection numbers, Austrian government announced further easing of Corona restrictions. Restaurants will soon be allowed to stay open longer, in stores only masks will soon be compulsory.

Almost 120.000 new Corona infections, another record incidence: but experts assume a high number of unreported cases. The Newsblog.

This Corona blog has ended. All the latest news on the pandemic can be found here.
The Corona expert council calls for better communication from the federal government
Virologists warn of the return of the delta variant
According to employment agency boss Scheele threatens unvaccinated a blocking period with the unemployment pay
Singer Joni Mitchell announces Spotify boycott over Corona ‘lies’
Taliban offer pregnant journalist Corona asylum in Afghanistan

Berlin. Corona situation in Germany continues to worsen. Such speed in the New infections Like last, but never before existed. On Sunday morning, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), citing local health departments, reported 118.970 new corona infections. A week earlier, the level was around 85.000 new infections. The nationwide incidence was 1156.8 on Sunday – up from 806.8 the previous week.

However: experts assume a high number of unreported cases. Many new infections are likely to be unrecorded in RKI data, as testing capacity and health departments are overloaded in many places. Read more: Corona in Germany – The current figures of the RKI at a glance

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Interactive map:Omicron has already arrived in these countries

Corona news from Sunday, 30. January 2022: Expert panel laments lack of coordinated health communications

20.56 pm: The German government’s Corona expert council calls for improvements in risk and health communication in Germany. "To support individuals and society in self-efficacy and risk-competent behavior, responsive, evidence-based, target-group- and user-specific risk and health communication is essential", the panel announced on Sunday evening in its fifth statement.

This would need to explain scientific evidence simply, translate it into recommendations for action, as well as become the first choice for helpful and reliable information. "Even if currently authorities and ministries realize parts of it, there is no institution in Germany that implements risk and health communication coordinated according to the principles listed below."

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Is omicron wave the beginning of the end of the pandemic?

19.32 p.m: Mankind is now entering the third year of the Corona pandemic and never before have infection numbers been higher in this country. But the truth is also that the Omikron wave causes much fewer deaths, because less severe cases than other variants. So is this the first step on the road from pandemic to Endemic?

The Federal Ministry of Health, Scientists and modelers have developed different scenarios in response to this answer. In the house of Karl Lauterbach, one fears that closures are threatened again next winter, if not finally the Vaccination gap is closed. But Ulrike Protzer, head of the Institute of Virology at the Technical University of Munich, raises another scary possibility: the return of the delta variant.

Demonstration against Corona measures in Brussels without incidents

18.28 p.m: After the riots of the past week, a Demonstration against the Corona measures in Brussels largely quiet this Sunday. According to police, about 1600 people marched through the city, as reported by the news agency Belga. According to the report, they reached the Atomium in the north of the Belgian capital without incident. According to the report, the demonstrators were demanding the removal of the Belgian government because of its Corona policy.

Last week, according to police reports, around 50.000 people protested in Brussels. Towards the end of the demonstration procession there were violent riots. According to media reports, demonstrators threw objects at police officers and damaged buildings. Police used tear gas and water cannon. More than 200 people were taken into custody.

Scheele: If vaccinations are mandatory, employers can refuse unvaccinated workers

17.24 o’clock: The chairman of the Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele, Sees consequences for labor market if general corona vaccine requirement is introduced. "Only when there is a general vaccination obligation and violations are also associated with legal consequences, employers can reject an applicant because he is not vaccinated or recovered", Scheele told this editorial office. "We as the Federal Agency must then also check whether a lack of vaccination leads to a blocking period." A blocking period means that an unemployed person does not get unemployment benefit for a certain time.

The SPD parliamentary group also has its eye on the consequences for the labor market. "We are currently looking very closely, together with the Federal Ministry of Labor, at whether we should make it compulsory for employers to provide proof of vaccination", said the health policy spokeswoman Heike Baehrens the "Stuttgarter Zeitung" and the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten. "It would probably be more effective than a fine if health authorities banned unvaccinated employees from entering their company – but I can’t imagine that for the entire labor market, rather for certain industries and institutions", it led from.

Demos against Corona policy: criticism of location and timing in Nuremberg

15.35 o’clock: Several thousand people demonstrated in Nuremberg and Munich on Sunday against Corona restrictions And in particular demonstrated a possible compulsory vaccination. However, there were significantly fewer participants than expected. Incidents were not reported by Bavarian police. The event in Nuremberg was sharply criticized in front of many people. For the demo took place at the Volksfestplatz in the immediate vicinity of the Reich Party Rally Grounds instead of. Sunday was also the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s seizure of power in 1933.

At Twitter therefore many users criticized the place and the timing. The actor Marcus Mittermeier ("Munich Murder"), for example, wrote on Twitter at noon on Sunday: "Lateral thinking has arrived where they want to go: today demo at the Reichsparteitagsgelande. On the anniversary of the." On 30. January 1933, Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor by Reich President Paul von Hindenburg.

Lateral thinking has arrived where they want to go: today demo at the Reichsparteitagsgelande. On the anniversary of the seizure of power. &♂️ #n3001

— Marcus Mittermeier (@MMittermeier) January 30, 2022

Call for "exit strategy" in Corona pandemic grows louder

3 p.m: Despite Corona infection numbers continuing to rise, calls grow louder in politics for approach to rollback of restrictions. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) told Der Spiegel: "We have not yet come out of the omicron wave, but we must already work concretely on when and under what conditions it will come to gradual Openings can come." The next federal-state roundtable in February should address the issue.

SPD parliamentary group vice president Dirk Wiese told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Sunday that a necessary opening perspective had already been correctly held out during consultations between the federal and state governments last Monday. "The federal and state governments have a joint responsibility here. This should include early consultation with the federal government’s expert council to determine which industries and sectors may fall under this first."

Joni Mitchell announces Spotify boycott – in protest against Corona "lies"

13.12:00: The legendary folk musician Joni Mitchell Joins boycott of her colleague Neil Young in dispute over controversial Corona podcasts on Spotify. "I have decided to remove all my music from Spotify", wrote the 78-year-old singer, guitarist and composer on her website. "Irresponsible people spread lies that cost people their lives." Spotify did not initially issue a statement.

Young, a rock musician who, like Mitchell, is from Canada, had all of his music removed from the streaming platform a few days ago. The 76-year-old had previously unsuccessfully asked Spotify to remove controversial U.S. comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast. He accused Rogan of spreading misinformation about the corona virus. "Spotify has become a site of potentially lethal disinformation on Covid", criticized Young.

Mitchell on Friday declared solidarity with Young "and the global scientific and medical community". On her website, she posted an open letter from doctors and other scientists urging Spotify to help with a comprehensive strategy against Misinformation To take action against Rogan’s repeated falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the Corona pandemic.

Pregnant New Zealander not allowed to return home due to quarantine rules – Taliban offer welcome in Afghanistan for delivery

11.8 p.m: A pregnant New Zealand journalist says she has been taken in by the Taliban in Afghanistan because of strict Corona restrictions could not return to her home country to give birth. She said she had been "betrayed" by her own country felt, Charlotte Bellis told Radio New Zealand from Kabul on Sunday. After she made her fate public, New Zealand authorities want to reconsider her entry application.

Bellis had previously written in the newspaper "New Zealand Herald" reports that she worked for the Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera in Afghanistan and then discovered she was pregnant when she returned to the broadcast center in Doha. Da Pregnancies Since unmarried women are banned from Qatar, she secretly prepared to return to New Zealand. But she had been told there that she could not get an exemption for a return.

As her partner, a Belgian photographer, in Afghanistan working, she had approached senior Taliban officials in her distress, Bellis further reported. They had then offered to come to Afghanistan to deliver her, she said. "We are happy for you, you can come and will have no problems", The journalist cited the Taliban’s response. New Zealand now wants to reconsider her immigration application.

In case of big staff shortage: Giffey considers letting infected people work without symptoms

10.10 a.m: With very large staff shortages in critical infrastructure because of Corona, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey can imagine letting infected people work without symptoms. "Should there be misinformation in areas of the most basic Basic services come to the point that we can no longer maintain operations with healthy staff alone, we will have to consider more serious measures", said the SPD politician to the "Bild am Sonntag". "Then it is an option that infected people, but who have no symptoms, continue to come to work in certain areas in exceptional cases."

One such Work quarantine can, of course, only be implemented under strict protective measures: "Anyone who operates a machine alone in the waterworks, or who extinguishes a fire in the fire department, can do so without major problems with a symptom-free Corona infection." The situation is different for people who have to deal with patients in hospitals or nursing homes.

Currently, there is a Loss of personnel of 15 percent on average, said Giffey. "We are prepared for a staff shortage of up to 30 percent."

Canadian truckers demonstrate for days against mandatory vaccinations

10.03 a.m: Hundreds of truck drivers in Canada have staged a day-long protest against the Corona vaccination requirement that recently took effect when crossing the border into the U.S. On Saturday, the trucker arrived in the capital Ottawa, where she was enthusiastically received by thousands of people. Protesters waved Canadian flags and placards reading "Freedom" and shouted chants against prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The so-called "convoy for freedom was on Sunday last week in Vancouver on Canada’s west coast, as reported by Canadian media. On the way to the capital Ottawa, which is about 4400 kilometers away from Vancouver, more and more drivers joined the convoy.

The Mandatory vaccination for crossing the border was introduced by Canada and the USA in mid-January. Unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers have to undergo a 14-day quarantine when returning from the USA, US drivers without vaccination are not allowed to enter the country at all. The U.S. threatens a permanent ban in case of non-compliance.

Mariele Millowitsch no longer wants to work with unvaccinated colleagues

9.44 hrs: Actress Mariele Millowitsch Wants to stop working with unvaccinated in Corona crisis. During filming last year, an unvaccinated, infected colleague was on the set and paralyzed everything for days because of the quarantine, the 66-year-old Cologne native told the German Press Agency. "Afterward, all she said was that she didn’t infect anyone. She didn’t even see the extent of it", Said the actress. "I have no understanding for this. It’s clear to me that I don’t want to work with anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated."

On shoots such as the current episode of the ZDF series "Marie Brand Be Corona still an issue, said Millowitsch. Especially behind the camera, he said, great attention is paid to distance. "At lunchtime, everyone sat at a different table, it looked like an installation." People don’t hug each other anymore, but that doesn’t bother her much: "I’m not much of a smoocher."

City council president: facility-based vaccination requirement must be accompanied by activity ban

9.5 p.m: The president of the German Association of Cities, Markus Lewe (CDU), advocates coupling the facility-based vaccination obligation with a ban on activities and entry. The facility-based vaccination requirement will only be effective "if employers, employees and authorities can clearly identify the cases in which unvaccinated persons can continue their activities after the 15. March are no longer allowed to exercise and what exceptions there are", Lewe told the Dusseldorf "Rheinische Post" (Saturday). The obligation to vaccinate should be consistently coupled in the law with a ban on activity and entry, explained the mayor of Munster.

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Israel: number of corona severe cases rises above 1000 again

7.56 o’clock: For the first time in almost a year, the number of seriously ill Corona patients in Israel Rise again above 1000. The Ministry of Health announced Saturday evening that 1010 patients seriously ill with Corona were being treated in hospitals. The previous peak was reached in January 2021 with around 1200 seriously ill patients.

Israeli hospitals currently complain of a high load, because there are also significantly more flu patients than a year ago. At the same time, there are early signs that the omicron wave in Israel may be starting to subside. On Friday, according to the data, about 53.000 new Corona cases reported. A week ago, the number of New infections in Israel with more than 85.000 reached a peak since the beginning of the pandemic.

Labor agency chief: unvaccinated applicants can be rejected if vaccinations are generally mandatory

7.30 o’clock: The introduction of a general vaccination requirement will also lead to changes in the Federal Employment Agency (BA), according to Detlef Scheele, the agency’s CEO Job search LEAD. "If there is a general duty to vaccinate and violations also carry legal consequences, employers can reject an applicant because he or she has not been vaccinated or recovered", Scheele told this editorial office. The Federal Agency must also check "whether a lack of vaccination leads to a blocking period" if a general vaccination obligation is introduced, said Scheele.

Scheele emphasized that at the moment the Vaccination status of employees, on the other hand, would in fact have no effect on the labor market "because there is currently no corresponding legal basis". First, he said, lawmakers must take action and pass appropriate legislation to make vaccination mandatory. Currently, employers are only obliged to "employ or recruit in compliance with 3G". In the event of a general vaccination requirement, employers would then be given the right to check 2G status in the workplace "that option does not currently exist,".

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Corona news of Saturday, 29. January 2022: Again numerous demos against Corona policy

21.57 h: In several cities in Germany on Saturday, people again demonstrated against the Corona policy. According to police estimates, in Freiburg (Baden-Wurttemberg) alone, approximately 4500 people at a demonstration to protest mandatory vaccination and pandemic containment measures. There have been no significant incidents, said a police spokesman. Counter-demonstrators, however, would have tried to block the route of the demonstration with bicycles.

In Leipzig there was a demonstration in which, according to the police, several hundred opponents of Corona measures took part. There were other protest marches in Schwerin, Brandenburg an der Havel, Osnabruck, Dusseldorf and several Saxon towns, among others.

250 revellers celebrate carnival in Cologne hotel

21.28:00: Up to 250 revellers celebrated carnival in a Cologne hotel on Saturday night. At the "Humba Tatara" dinner, the 2G-plus rule applies, visitors have fixed seats at tables and are served food, said a spokesman for the costume retailer Deiters as organizer. All specifications of the Corona protection regulation would be observed. "Celebrating carnival is allowed, you just have to know how."

Until Carnival Sunday, the company plans to hold similar events on all weekends, in some cases with up to 750 guests in a hall. Cologne carnival stars such as the Black Fooss and the Paveier have been announced for the stage program.

Dozens of Corona opponents storm hospital grounds during protest march in Leipzig

18.58 p.m: Dozens of opponents of the Corona measures are in Leipzig during one of their so-called "walks" declared protest marches to the site of the University clinic Stormed. According to a police spokeswoman, the protest march of "several hundred" had been People on Saturday afternoon near the Volkerschlachtdenkmal started and was then stopped by police near the clinic for psychiatry. Dozens then stormed onto the grounds of the psychiatric clinic there, which is part of the UKL, he said – presumably hoping to escape the police encirclement.

Videos posted on Twitter showed some police officers at the gate to the site still trying in vain to hold back the crowd. But they were obviously not up to the onslaught. According to the police spokeswoman, the police established the identity of the intruders for possible criminal investigations firmly. The remaining "walkers had been let go again after an identity check.

Discussion about Corona vaccination obligation continues

16.59 o’clock: The president of the German Association of Cities, Markus Lewe (CDU), has argued for a facility-based obligation to Corona vaccination in the law consistently with a ban on activity and trespassing. The institution-related vaccination obligation will only be effective "if employers, employees and authorities can clearly identify in which cases unvaccinated persons can continue their activities after the 15. March may no longer exercise and what exceptions there are", Lewe told the Dusseldorf "Rheinische Post" (Saturday). Meanwhile, according to a report in the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag (Saturday) now nevertheless made its own proposal for the general vaccination obligation.

On Wednesday, the Bundestag for the first time on the possible expansion of a Corona vaccination requirement. From mid-March, such a duty will apply in the health and care sector. In the Bundestag, there are proposals to extend it either for all adults over 18 years or only for the elderly. There were no concrete motions for the debate yet. This is now to be made up and a decision made by the end of March.

Integration commissioner promotes vaccinations against Corona

15.30 pm: The Integration Commissioner of the Federal Government, Reem Alabali-Radovan (SPD), attended a Corona vaccination campaign in Berlin on Saturday. "The important thing is that everywhere gets it: Vaccinating helps. Even if people do not speak German as their mother tongue", Alabali-Radovan said. "Multilingual education is especially important in the medical field."

There are similar concerns and fears among migrants as among everyone else, she said. "The Language barrier is the biggest obstacle. Confidence can be gained in the mother tongue", said Alabali-Radovan.

Ethics Council chairwoman: Vaccination should be as simple as possible

14.00 o’clock: The preparation of a Mandatory vaccination In the opinion of the chairwoman of the German Ethics Council, the vaccination against the corona virus should be flanked by other measures. These include "low-threshold vaccination offers and target group-specific advice and information", said the Munich medical ethicist Alena Buyx of the Bremen newspaper "Weser-Kurier" of Saturday.

She also referred to the statements of the Ethics Council, Of an independent panel of experts. "We have said very clearly: the preparation of a vaccination obligation does not release the responsible persons in any way from the fact that one strives further for the voluntariness and makes it really simple for the people", Buyx said. Mandatory vaccination could not help in current Corona wave, but target next fall, she said. Therefore, Germany should take time for a detailed debate. There is a lot of vaccination skepticism here compared to other countries, he said.

"But in the long run, the experience with legal obligations is that, if they apply and are implemented properly, they work well overall", said the professor from the Technical University of Munich. "Very important: It is not a question of one hundred percent with such an obligation, that is hardly possible also with other legal obligations."

Austria relaxes Corona measures in stages

12.40 h: Austria Is gradually easing its Corona measures despite high numbers of new infections. So will the curfew from 5. February from 22.00 o’clock to 24.00 p.m. was postponed, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (oVP) said in Vienna on Saturday. From 12. February on fall the 2G rule in the trade. However, he said, the obligation to wear an FFP2 mask remains. As of 19. February applies in the catering and tourism instead of the 2G rule again 3G rule, it was said. This means that even with a negative Corona test, it is still possible to visit restaurants.

Basis of the decisions is thus the foreseeable further low load of the hospitals. "These numbers are stable and at a really predictable good level", Nehammer said about the situation in normal and intensive care units. Especially in the intensive care units there is no longer a threat of overload, said Health Minister Wolfgang Muckstein (Greens). The Seven-day incidence is about 2400 per 100 in Austria.000 inhabitants. The peak of the current Corona wave is expected at the end of the first week of February, according to the government.

Number of Corona vaccinations decreases

11.45 h: The number of vaccinations in Germany decreased at the end of the week. According to data released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Saturday, on Friday at least 370.000 vaccine doses were administered – down from 466 the previous day.000. A week ago Friday, there were nearly 582.000 vaccinations, on the Friday before about 769.000.

At least 73.9 percent of the population (61.4 million) have received full basic protection, according to RKI data. This usually requires two doses of vaccine. Nor does the RKI count people who receive only one dose of the Johnson&-Johnson preparation have received, – however, that is just changed over. In the future, Johnson&-Johnson vaccinated patients will only be considered fully vaccinated after a second dose of vaccine – preferably with an mRNA vaccine such as that from Biontech/Pfizer or Moderna.

More than half of the population has a booster vaccination against the Coronavirus Get. At least 43.7 million people (52.6 percent) have now been boosted, the RKI reported. This is important for effective protection against the particularly infectious virus variant Omikron.

Stiko chairman Mertens counts on Novavax recommendation

11.8 p.m: The chairman of the Permanent Vaccination Commission (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, expects the Stiko to recommend the Novavax vaccine by the end of February. Mertens told RTL/ntv: "You can certainly expect a recommendation – whatever it is – on this." He hopes that this will happen in time before the vaccine is available. Despite "temporary side effects" – similar to the mRNA-based vaccines from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna – Mertens rates the vaccine as safe: "I don’t think the vaccine poses a particular safety problem and I hope the."

However, various data from studies are still missing at present, said Mertens. For example, the effect on certain groups, such as the elderly or pregnant women, "cannot be properly assessed. Whether the recommendation of the Stiko will therefore only apply to certain groups, Mertens did not want to specify at the current time.

The vaccine is scheduled for delivery from the end of February. In Rhineland-Palatinate registrations for vaccination appointments are already possible. How the "Tagesschau reports, more than 9000 people have registered for Novavax vaccination since Monday, including about 5000 in the first hours after the registration was activated.

Police ban unannounced Corona ‘walks’ in Cottbus

11.3 p.m: Police in Brandenburg are taking a tougher line against unannounced demonstrations against the Corona protective measures from. After numerous unannounced and as "walks" declared assemblies are such marches in Cottbus from Monday to the 13. February generally prohibited, announced the police department south on Saturday in Cottbus. A general decree has now been issued to this effect. The recurring unregistered gatherings were associated with violations of public safety and order, especially infection control to contain the Corona pandemic, the statement said.

Soder calls for the introduction of a nationwide hospital traffic light system

10.00 o’clock: Bavaria’s Minister President Markus Soder (CSU) calls for the introduction of a new nationwide warning system as a decision-making basis for the pandemic policy of the federal government and the states in view of the high Corona infection dynamics. As the incidence figure is expected to rise given the lack of testing facilities in the Omicron wave their "advance warning effect We need a new evaluation system that should be based on the occupancy rate of hospital beds, Soder told the "Welt am Sonntag". "This is the only way to find out whether the healthcare system remains stable – or whether there is a threat of overcrowding."

According to Soder, the new warning system is intended to measure the proportion of infections in the occupancy of the Hospitals and possible overloading of nursing staff must be taken into account. It is also important to know how many people are hospitalized solely because of Corona and how many are hospitalized with Corona, said the Bavarian head of government.

Union faction makes push for mandatory vaccination

9.3 p.m: The Union faction in the Bundestag is in favor of a Corona vaccination requirement that is time-limited and differentiated by viral variants, according to a report. "Differentiation according to virus variants and temporal component is missing in all group proposals – as are ideas for improving the data basis. The Union will submit a proposal on these three points", announced the health policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Tino Sorge, according to the newspaper Welt am Sonntag to.

"Compulsory vaccination would only make sense if particularly dangerous virus variants are imminent – and if suitable vaccines are available at the same time. If one of the two does not apply, would be a vaccination obligation little purposeful", said Sorge. "The clear signal to the population must also be: If a vaccination obligation comes, then only with a clear, narrow time limit."

According to Sorge’s plans, there should be no blanket obligation to vaccinate, but a flexible obligation that takes effect whenever a particularly dangerous virus variant is detected. In this case, as with the regular Influenza protection measures The government could proceed in the same way – only then with an obligation to be vaccinated, which would apply for a few weeks or months at a time. Under this concept, vaccinations would also be recorded centrally. "A vaccination register would provide more clarity on actual vaccination rates. Above all, it would help to know more about who the unvaccinated are", stressed concern.

More than two million 3G checks on the railroads

9.07 a.m: The 3G rule has been in effect on public transportation for about two months now – and the vast majority of passengers are complying, according to Deutsche Bahn. Around two million checks have been carried out so far on local and long-distance trains, with 99 percent of travelers proving that they had been vaccinated, recovered or tested. Those unable to do so must get off at the next stop and be tested before continuing their journey. In case of conflict, the federal police will be called in. At Deutsche Bahn, checks are carried out on a random basis and in teams of two. The 3G rule has been in effect since 24. November.

BDI head Russwurm criticizes German government’s Corona policy

6.00 o’clock: Two years after the first infection in Germany became known, the president of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, has given German Corona policy a poor report card. "After two years of Corona, it is totally unacceptable that there is not enough up-to-date data, PCR testing capacity and uniform hygiene concepts for school classes", Russwurm told our editorial staff.

"And I am puzzled by some decision making. We see Corona summit of federal and state governments with great unity – and a few hours later state-specific variants of the decision." This leads to a loss of confidence and a patchwork quilt that no one understands anymore. Russwurm said, "I would like to see more systematic. Germany simply does not get in front of the wave."

Habeck holds out prospect of extending Corona aid beyond March

5.30:00: German Economics Minister Robert Habeck has held out the prospect of an extension of Corona aid. "I hope that by the end of March we will be in a different situation. But if it is necessary to extend the aid again to ensure the survival of hard-hit farms, then we in the federal government will provide the funds for this", said the Green politician to our editorial staff. Habeck said that the current aid measures had got off to a good start. The first partial payments – so-called advance payments – have been flowing in since 18 September. January and had arrived on the accounts of those affected.

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German Medical Association warns of renewed rise in severe Corona cases

3.00 a.m: The German Medical Association warns of a renewed increase in severe Corona cases: Alone due to the enormously high rate of spread with 200.With the number of new cases rising to more than 000 per day, it is necessary to prepare for a possible increase in the number of severe cases, said Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association, to our editorial team. "We have been observing a sideways movement in new admissions for a few days and, very recently, a slight increase in occupancy in intensive care units again.", so the medical profession.

Far-reaching relaxations like in England or Denmark could not be a model for Germany at this point in time. The situation in this country is different. Germany has the second-oldest population in Europe after Italy and a comparatively low vaccination rate among the elderly, he said. "With still twelve percent unvaccinated among those over 60, we risk overloading intensive capacity if we drastically scale back protective measures at this time", warned the president of physicians.

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Marburger Bund expects backtrack on shortened convalescent status

3.00: The president of the Marburger Bund, Susanne Johna, has criticized the federal government for shortening the convalescent status from six to three months. "I don’t think the 90-day rule can be sustained in Germany", she told the "Rheinische Post. After all, the EU member states "only a few days ago set the validity of the convalescent status at six months.".

While it is true in principle that the number of antibodies decreases in most people about 90 days after an infection. "However, this is of course not a fixed date and varies greatly from patient to patient It also depends on how strong the immune response to the infection was. In this respect, the Europe-wide regulation is perfectly justifiable", said Johna. "This should not be put in doubt by going it alone."

Corona news from Friday, 28. January 2022: Virologist Brinkmann appears in Bohmermann’s satirical show on vaccination

22.57 p.m: The virologist Melanie Brinkmann has informed about the immune system and vaccination in an unusual way – with a guest appearance on Jan Bohmermann’s satirical show. She is known to many because she repeatedly appeared on talk shows as an expert during the Corona pandemic. The professor from the Technical University of Braunschweig is also a member of the German government’s Corona expert panel.

In the episode of "ZDF Magazin Royale" published on Friday in the ZDF Mediathek Brinkmann was seen in an office practice setting. The whole thing was structured like this: The Virologist explained in short sequences details about the immune system, viruses and the effect of a vaccination. In the process, she was repeatedly interrupted by a performer in the studio audience who had doubts about her statements. He played electric guitar loudly, made pointed comments or bit into a raw piece of meat. In the end, Bohmermann broke off, commenting that some people simply cannot be reached with arguments anymore. The actor was led out of the studio.

Russia’s statistics agency reports more than 660.000 Corona deaths

22.51 hrs: More than 660.000 people in Russia have died from infection with the corona virus since the pandemic began. According to the Rosstat statistics agency on Friday, Russia’s population shrank by more than one million people in 2021. This continues the downward trend from the previous year. In 2020, a decline of more than half a million was registered.

Corona death figures released by Rosstat are more than double government figures: according to a government website on the pandemic, 329 died in Russia.443 people associated with a Corona infection. Rosstat applies a broader definition of corona deaths.

Russia among world’s hardest hit by Corona pandemic. Four vaccines are available, but vaccine skepticism in the country is high. Not even half of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

Manufacturer: Corona drug molnupiravir also effective against omicron

10 p.m: The Corona drug Molnupiravir According to its manufacturer, the vaccine is also effective against the Omikron variant. U.S. drugmaker MSD said Friday that six in vitro studies independently concluded that the drug is "consistently antiviral." works against the variant. According to the report, the studies took place in Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and the U.S.

According to the MSD group, which also owns Merck& Co. says the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 30 percent among predecessor variants of Omikron. The most recent studies show good efficacy against omicron as well. The results "provide additional confidence in the potential of molnupiravir as an important treatment option", MSD research lab chief Dean Y Li said. The result would now have to be further tested by clinical trials.

Vaccination passport trafficking: interior minister calls for action against Telegram

21.45 p.m: Saxony-Anhalt’s Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) is calling for a tougher crackdown on the messenger operator because of the trade in fake Corona vaccination certificates on Telegram. "Telegram’s legal regulations are effectively "running on empty" at the moment, she told the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (Hall). She is pushing for an EU-wide regulation that would also force online services based abroad to cooperate with European security authorities.

With just a few clicks, you can find out more on Telegram order yellow booklets for 50 to 250 euros, as the newspaper reports. The messenger service, which also frequently calls for demonstrations against the state’s Corona measures, is actually required by German law to delete criminal content and pass on information to the police. But the Dubai-based company had so far ignored government inquiries.

Agreement in vaccine patent dispute could be imminent, WTO says

19.2 p.m: In the dispute about Vaccine patents a deal for poorer countries could be imminent, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). "We hope that in the coming weeks we will be able to reach a breakthrough", WTO chairwoman Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters on Friday. Accordingly, a "compromise solution" is emerging ab "allowing developing countries better access to technology transfer and intellectual property while protecting innovation and research".

"What is important is access to vaccines", France’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Franck Riester said. The dispute over intellectual property should not be a "brake" for access to vaccines in developing countries should be. India and South Africa last October proposed a temporary suspension of patent protection on the vaccines to speed production of Corona vaccines in developing countries and address the unequal distribution of vaccines. Negotiations have been underway at the WTO level since then.

Corona: Can recovered patients be infected with Omikron again??

19.01 am: Initial data show that a passed-through infection does not appear to protect against the omicron variant. Can you get multiple infections? Read more: Corona: Can you be infected multiple times with Omikron?

Ciesek "not happy" with shortening of the convalescent status

18.31 am: The Frankfurt virologist Sandra Ciesek is also critical of the shortening of the convalescent status from six to three months. The director of the Institute for Medical Virology at the Frankfurt University Hospital pleaded on Friday for the timing of the booster after recovery to be "individual-medically" to decide.

"I am not really happy and satisfied with the regulations", said Ciesek. It is "very difficult" to define a uniform point in time for all patients. It would have to take into account which viral variant one was infected with, how old one is, how long ago, if any, vaccinations were given. "The regulation with the three months Is very inconvenient for some patients", she said in Wiesbaden. Young people who were vaccinated in the summer and became infected in the fall are now "in a real dilemma" (Saturday). They would now have to be boosted after three months "but some of them have antibodies that go beyond our measurement window". Here, she said, it makes sense to wait for the new vaccine adapted to Omikron. For 60-year-olds, it is quite different.

Kretschmann criticizes interference of virologists in Corona policy

17.35 pm: Scientists such as virologists should, in the view of Baden-Wurttemberg’s Minister President Winfried Kretschmann Keeping out of politics. "Max Weber pointed out that science describes the world as it was, is and will be. You can also describe how you could change the world. But science can not say whether you should change the world too", said the Green politician to the "Heilbronner Stimme" and the "Sudkurier" (Saturday) with regard to the sociologist (1864-1920).

Scientists should absolutely have the authority to interpret their subject, Kretschmann said. "But they should also stick to that and refrain from giving political advice." This could significantly affect their scientific authority, said the prime minister. "For example, whether compulsory vaccination will cause political collateral damage – which it undoubtedly will – is not a matter for the Stiko or from whomever." This is the competence and task of the politicians who have been elected for this purpose – not of the epidemiologists, she said. "Some things have slipped."

The chairman of the Standing Commission on Immunization (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, had spoken out against a general Corona vaccination obligation.

Government removes 13 African countries from Corona risk list

17.7 p.m: The federal government on Sunday removes 13 African countries from the list of Corona-High-risk areas. Among them are the states where the omicron variant of the virus had first spread in November, including South Africa and Namibia. This was announced by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Friday.

Newly classified as high-risk areas are eleven countries, including only One in Europe: Ukraine. Also added: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Singapore. In addition, the French overseas territory of New Caledonia becomes a high-risk area. Removed from risk list alongside Namibia and South Africa are Angola, Burundi, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda.

Corona vaccination: This is how often vaccine damage really occurs

17.5 pm: Drone after corona vaccination vaccine damage or long-term effects? New data now provide clear results. Read more: Vaccine damage after Corona vaccination: that’s how rare they really are

Iceland eases Corona measures again two weeks after tightening up

16.32 o’clock: About two weeks after a tightening, Iceland plans to significantly relax its corona control measures again. "Today we have good news", said Icelandic Prime Minister KatrIn Jakobsdottir at a press conference in Reykjavik on Friday. From Saturday (29. January) may again gather 50 people, previously that number had been 10. Clubs and pubs allowed to reopen after being forced to close in mid-January. At the time, the government felt compelled to tighten up because it considered the health care system to be.

Now, especially in the recreational sector, there are many Loosenings, such as higher utilization of swimming pools or fitness studios. If everything goes according to plan, it is hoped that "normal life" will resume in mid-March to get back, said Jakobsdottir. The government reviews possible relaxations at regular intervals and, according to the current status, then wants to lift almost all measures.

Pharmacies want to be on 8. February to start Corona vaccinations

16.00 a.m: Who wants to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, the tip can soon also be given in pharmacies. On 8. February, the vaccination campaign started there, explained the federal association German Pharmacists Association (ABDA) on Friday. "In the run-up the conditions had to be created – that is now done", explained association president Gabriele Overwiening. Legally, the way had already been paved for this in December.

Pharmacists have now been trained, and the technical requirements are now in place to report the number of vaccinated patients electronically to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the ABDA said. "The last outstanding issues were vaccine quotas for pharmacies and the ordering cycle", Overwieing added added. "This was discussed today with the Federal Ministry of Health Clarified."

"This offer from pharmacies is new, but we are excellently prepared for it", Overwiening was convinced. The ABDA stressed that vaccination is "an additional, voluntary offer". Whether a pharmacy actually offers them is decided in each case by the management.

Spain sees crest of omicron wave passed

15.06 am: Spain has seen the peak of the current mainly from the Omicron variation triggered Corona wave has exceeded the government’s estimate. "Everything indicates that the curve of infections is falling", Health Secretary Carolina Darias said Friday. "The decline in numbers is solidifying from day to day", the minister added, but at the same time urged further caution.

The Seven-Day Incidence in the popular vacation destination has fallen more than 300 points since its peak last Monday, to 1335 at last count. Pressure on the health system also decreased somewhat. Within a week, the occupancy rate of all hospital beds with Corona patients dropped from 15.2 percent to 14.8 percent, and beds in intensive care units fell from 23.3 percent to 22.1 percent. During the same period, more than 1,100 other Corona-related deaths were registered, according to the Ministry of Health.

Most of those infected do not show any or only mild Symptoms of illness at. A total of 1.48 million infections have been registered in the past two weeks, he said. Of these, only about 266,000 had developed clear signs of illness, wrote the newspaper La Vanguardia. Spain has comparatively high vaccination rate. More than 80 percent have been vaccinated twice and are thus basic immunized. 43 percent have received a third vaccination.

Anti-Semitic incidents at Corona protests on the rise

13.33 a.m: Protesters appear to be increasingly using yellow wristbands with the words "unvaccinated" in protests against Corona measures or variations of National Socialist markings in place of the so-called "Jewish star". The obvious goal, he said, is to evade police prosecution. The Federal Association of Research and Information Centers on Anti-Semitism (RIAS) draws attention to this in a report published in Berlin on Friday.

The unabatedly strong turnout at protests against the Corona measures Goes hand in hand with increased visibility of anti-Semitic content. In response to the debate about a general vaccination obligation and the introduction of the 2G and 3G rules, analogies to the Shoah and in particular to the anti-Semitic marking practice under National Socialism accumulated, it was said. Between the 20. November 2021 and the 8. January 2022, RIAS and regional reporting centers became aware of 91 gatherings against the Corona measures at which anti-Semitic statements were made.

In 81 cases, anti-Semitic references to National Socialism and the Shoah were reported, and in ten cases stereotypes of modern anti-Semitism such as Conspiracy myths, has been used. Last December alone, the federal association counted 67 gatherings at which anti-Semitic content was disseminated. Between March 2020 and March 2021, the federal association counted a total of 324 anti-Semitic incidents at gatherings related to the Corona pandemic. This had reported a high of 87 incidents in May 2020.

Nursing Council warns of staff shortages due to mandatory vaccinations

12.29 o’clock: The president of the German Nursing Council, Christine Vogler, warns of supply bottlenecks in care due to the upcoming mandatory vaccination of medical and nursing staff. "There are so few staff that we can’t afford to have even one person or one person quit", Vogler told the news magazine "Der Spiegel". "If unvaccinated nurses are banned from working, the supply situation will become increasingly precarious."

The treatment of nursing staff during the pandemic did not help them feel valued, Vogler noted. "We have cared for people with corona from the beginning, regardless of whether masks were missing or protective gowns, even before there was a vaccination. Now nurses are being blamed in political debates for spreading the virus". This is unspeakable.

Lauterbach continues to adhere to convalescent status of three months

12.2 p.m: Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has once again called the controversial shortening of the convalescent status after a Corona infection from six to three months "sensible" Defends. "With Omikron, we have the problem that the person who was infected on the Delta variant can get infected on Omikron after only three months", explained Lauterbach on Friday in Berlin.

The recovered status for six months is "not safe" in view of the risk of infection and contagion that has not been eliminated, said Lauterbach. There had also been "no dissent" to this decision between his ministry and the Robert Koch Institute, Lauterbach confirmed in response to several questions from journalists about the controversial downgrading of the recovered status to three months.

Corona vaccination quota of 80 percent barely achievable by the end of January

11.45 p.m: The federal government’s goal of having by the end of January 80 percent of the population are vaccinated at least once against Corona is in danger of failing. Nationwide on Thursday at least 466.000 vaccine doses administered, according to data released Friday by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). But only a good 40.000 of these went to people who had not yet been vaccinated. At 85.000, these were vaccinations that led to full basic protection, with 344.000 around booster vaccinations.

This means that only 75.7 percent of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine so far. According to the RKI, 73.8 percent have full basic protection, and 52.2 percent have already received a booster vaccination. According to the statistics, 24.3 percent, a total of 20.2 million people, are not vaccinated. But this includes four million children up to the age of four, for whom no approved vaccine is yet available.

Despite record numbers: Fear of Corona declines

11.10 am: Despite the rapidly rising numbers of infections, according to a survey, the Fear before the Coronavirus in Germany clearly decreased. After on Friday published ZDF"Political Barometer" While 70 percent of respondents hold "Corona and the consequences" continues to be the most important problem, but now only 42 percent see their health at risk from the virus. Two weeks ago, the figure was 53 percent. In the meantime, it is becoming increasingly clear from the point of view of many experts that an infection with the highly contagious Omikron variant triggers a rather mild course of the disease in many cases.

Satisfaction with the current Corona measures has risen noticeably, according to the "Political Barometer up from 44 to 49 percent. Only 25 percent of respondents now think measures should be tougher (down 5), while 23 percent (up 1) think they are excessive.

Lauterbach: "Expect 400.000 new infections per day

10.11 p.m: Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and RKI President Lothar Wieler have sworn in the population to the upcoming peak of the Omikron wave. Shortly be with 400.000 new cases of infection per day can be expected, Lauterbach said. However, he also stated: "We have tested the omicron wave under Control". It is crucial that as few deaths and severe courses of disease as possible occur. The focus is mainly on the older part of the population. "The incidence in vulnerable groups is 200 to 300. This is our success", Lauterbach said.

RKI President Wieler also pointed out that now it is no longer the sum of the number of cases, but the burden of disease and the severity of the courses that is decisive. In addition, the number of cases would increase massively "but nowhere near as violently as would be possible under Omikron". This is also due to the fact that a large part of the population would responsibly follow the Corona rules, he said.

Lauterbach also announced that a new testing strategy and prescription, as well as new rules for free testing from quarantine, will be presented next week. Currently, work on this is being done in close coordination with the federal states.

Durr: Discuss opening perspective now

8.27 pm: FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Durr has called for a rapid discussion on opening perspectives in the Corona crisis. "In any case, we need to start thinking now about Opening perspectives to talk about.", Durr said to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "With Omikron, unlike previous Corona waves, it’s no longer incidence that matters, but how much of a burden it is on the health care system."

He demanded: "If the clinics withstand the omicron wave well, the next one has to be Prime Ministers’ Conference also recommend openings." Durr emphasized: "If freedom interventions are no longer necessary, we must withdraw them immediately."

Tubingen Mayor Boris Palmer criticizes Karl Lauterbach’s Corona policy

6 o’clock: The mayor of Tubingen, Boris Palmer (Greens), sharply criticizes the Corona policy of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD): "At the moment, many decisions are quite erratic. Limiting the convalescent status to only three months, for which there is no scientific evidence at all. Karl Lauterbach otherwise attaches great importance to them", he says in the podcast "Die Wochentester" from the "Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger and "RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

The fact that the convalescent status in the Bundestag is still valid for six months instead of only three months is an absurdity and must be changed urgently: "When I read that, I thought a Russian fake bot had put it into the world. The fact that people are seriously reserving for themselves a privilege that has been taken away from the entire population via RKI press release is simply unacceptable." Palmer argues vehemently for mandatory vaccination for over 50-year-olds: "If I protect people over 50, I have security for the hospitals. Then, logically, we can strip off the whole other corset of measures."

Lab boss: don’t clog capacity with free tests

5.02 hrs: To ease the burden on laboratories, recognized antigen tests should also be allowed to be used for corona clearance tests, according to laboratory physician Karsten Mydlak. "At some point, we will now have a situation where we will have to have the courage to make such gaps," Durr said, said the head of the Cottbus MVZ community laboratory to the German Press Agency. According to experts, antigen tests are also suitable for shortening the quarantine period. free tests with a PCR test in the case of milder courses, the capacity of the laboratories would only "clog up", was how the physician assessed the situation. The laboratories were waiting for a recommendation from the experts after the decisions of the health ministers and minister presidents of the federal states.

Call for more safety for train conductors during Corona checks

3.30 o’clock: Insults and violence: controls on Corona rules such as mandatory masks and 3G on public transport risk escalation. "Colleagues are approached, threatened and pushed", said Andreas Guth, head of the Kassel office of the rail and transport union (EVG). The controls should not be left to train attendants alone, but should be accompanied by security services or the police. "This is a potential danger, the workers are not trained for it", said Guth. The vast majority of passengers obeyed the rules, but some cases escalated, said Guth: "This is a high potential for violence from a very few people."

U.S. politician Palin eats at restaurant after positive corona tests

00.46 p.m: Shortly after several positive Corona tests, U.S. politician is Sarah Palin been spotted in a New York restaurant. As several U.S. media reported unanimously, the irritant figure of the political right thus violated the Corona rules in the U.S. east coast metropolis.

Palin may have been sitting outside at the restaurant on the ritzy Upper East Side on Wednesday, but she would actually have to isolate herself from other people. Republican Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate, is unvaccinated and said of the prospects of getting immunized recently, "Over my dead body". That’s why she caused a stir in New York a few days ago by eating inside a restaurant. Only fully vaccinated people are allowed to do this in the big city.

Intensive care physicians warn of patient numbers rising again

Intensivists have warned of rising patient numbers from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The president of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, told the "Rheinische Post, that he, in view of the "very high incidence" of corona cases The report says that "the general number of patients can and certainly will increase significantly again".

The number of Covid patients on the normal wards is also "very, very high", Marx continued. "Of course, this is also spreading throughout the clinic." An infection with the omicron variant is often milder than with the delta variant, but: "We are not talking about a cold", stressed Marx. "There will be serious courses and also deaths."

Corona News from Thursday, 27. January 2022: RKI reports alarming figures

22.8 p.m: The Robert Koch Institute reports alarming numbers in its new weekly report on the Corona situation. According to the report, the seven-day incidence in the total population has increased by 57 percent within one week. In the age group between 5 and 44 years, the incidence is now consistently above 1000.

The share of the omicron vote has continued to grow. It now stands at around 95 percent, meaning the delta variant is finally no longer the dominant mutant in Germany.

The RKI continues to assess the risk level for the population as very high a. Still 21 percent of Germans in the age group 21 to 59 years and eleven percent among the over-60s are not vaccinated, he said.

Even for people with basic immunization (two Corona vaccinations), the risk is considered high, writes the RKI. For all with a triple vaccination (booster), the risk of disease is "moderate".

Corona escape: lateral thinkers launch colony in Paraguay

21:45: A lateral thinkers’ colony in Paraguay has recently received a large influx from Germany. The so-called "Green Paradise in one of the poorest regions of the country, wants to offer people refuge not only from Corona rules including mandatory vaccination, but also from 5G and chemtrails.

On the social media pages of the "ParaIso Verde some crude and demonstrably false conspiracy theories about the pandemic are being spread. In addition, the inhabitants of the colony in the region already exert influence on local politicians, reports the British "Guardian".

Now also Corona cases in the German team after EM return

20.31:00: The Corona cases in the German Handball national team do not tear off also after the return from the EM. As the German Handball Association announced on Thursday evening, goalkeeper coach Mattias Andersson and player Fabian Wiede, who had traveled to the event in the first place because of the large number of Corona cases, are affected. Wiede will therefore not be available to the Fuchsen Berlin for the time being either.

Still on the day of departure had Lukas Stutzke from the Bergischer HC also received a positive result. The total number of people from the German delegation who tested positive for the coronavirus thus rose to 18. At least Marcel Schiller, Sebastian Heymann, Timo Kastening and Lukas Mertens could end their quarantine with negative tests, according to DHB information. The German team had said goodbye to the European Championship tournament in Slovakia and Hungary with a 30:29 victory on Tuesday evening.

Kekule: Postpone mandatory vaccination for hospital and nursing staff

20.26 o’clock: Virologist Alexander Kekule advocates postponing mandatory vaccination for hospital and nursing staff. For the spreading Omikron wave comes the Mandatory vaccination in March much too late, said Kekule on Thursday MDR Aktuell. If politicians had acted in November, the effect would have come in time. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Omikron variant is causing milder courses in infections, he said.

"That doesn’t make for an overload of Intensive care units." The main problem now, he said, is the large number of minor cases, for which it is debatable whether they all need to be hospitalized at all. Therefore, in his opinion, it should be examined whether the vaccination obligation for personnel comes at the right time. He would be in favor of changing the transition period. Should be overturned the vaccination obligation for professionals in hospitals and care facilities but not. "I think one may and should demand this from these people." The vaccinations should be effective no later than when the next major wave of Corona comes – he expects it in the fall.

Lauterbach justifies compulsory vaccination in sensitive facilities

19.30 o’clock: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has called for the Corona vaccination requirement, which takes effect in mid-March, for staff in institutions such as Clinics and nursing homes justified. "The law applies. It is a matter of protecting those who are particularly at risk.", said the SPD politician to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".

With regard to concrete problems, the federal government could help the states to determine a uniform procedure – i.e. how to deal with staff absences. "What doesn’t work is that mandatory vaccinations apply in nursing homes in one country, but not a few miles away." He strictly rejects a postponement.