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Request for questionnaires when entering the EU
Before a meeting of EU health ministers, the Group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament (EPP) called for a uniform EU response to the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus . There are different approaches in the individual member states, criticized the chairman of the EPP Group, Manfred Weber, in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The EU must finally have a common strategy. The group proposed that all travelers entering the European Union have to fill out a questionnaire in order to better prevent the spread of the virus.
In addition to basic contact details, trips to China and Asia should also be entered in the questionnaire, said the Italian EPP MP Antonio Tajani. It should also be noted whether there were flu symptoms in the 30 days before entry. False information should be punished, said Tajani. All EU countries would have to a uniform approach when dealing with immigrants Vice-President Esther de Lange emphasized. The group also appealed to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
The EU generally has little competence in responding to the virus epidemic, this lies primarily with the member states themselves. The EU health ministers should travel to a special meeting on the corona virus in Brussels on Thursday. For Germany , Health Minister Jens Spahn wanted to attend the meeting. (AP)
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Webasto headquarters in Bavaria reopened
The automotive supplier Webasto reopened its corporate headquarters in Gautinger’s Stockdorf district on Wednesday after two weeks of closure due to several coronavirus infections. In the morning, the employees poured into the building in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, which had previously been cleaned and disinfected by a specialist company. A Chinese Webasto employee had introduced the pathogen during a business trip. All 14 infections in Bavaria are now related to Webasto. In addition to employees, relatives have also become infected.
CEO Holger Engelmann emphasized in the morning that the closure was one Precautionary measure has been taken to the chain of infection after the first positive test to interrupt in the company. The last two cases so far were on
Became known Tuesday evening. There were two direct contacts from Infected, who were already in domestic quarantine. she were routinely retested before quarantine
should be lifted, it said.
Webasto had the first after it became known
Infection closed its headquarters in January. Most of the around 1000 Employees worked in the home office. (AP)
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Webasto boss Holger Engelmann.
Image: Peter Kneffel / dpa –
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Hong Kong restaurants are building partitions
The fear of the spread of the novel corona virus makes restaurants in Hong Kong inventive: one establishment even builds plexiglass partitions between two guests at a table, while another lowers roller blinds to avoid contact between visitors at different tables, like local media on Wednesday reported. Earlier this week it had been reported that 11 out of 19 family members got infected after eating all of them out of a traditional Chinese fire pot.
There are only 50 confirmed infections with the new virus Sars-CoV-2 in the seven million metropolis, but it sits Shock of the Sars pandemic 2002/2003 still deep today. Of the 774 deaths at that time in China and worldwide, 299 were in Hong Kong alone.
The government of the Chinese Special Administrative Region is now also advising the Hong Kong people to go as little as possible and To avoid crowds of people , which is difficult in the densely populated port metropolis. (AP)
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Increased complaints about discrimination in Germany
In the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency Increasingly people from Asia are reporting that report exclusions due to the new corona virus. “We are currently experiencing that people are marginalized and discriminated against because of their appearance or their origin,” said Bernhard Franke, head of the agency, on Wednesday in Berlin. A total of 19 people affected had turned to the anti-discrimination agency in the past few days.
The agency reported the case of a doctor’s office that refused treatment to a patient of Chinese origin, even though the person concerned had been to the doctor for completely different symptoms and had not been to China for months. In another case, a Chinese student received a refusal to apply for a flat on the grounds: “I don’t want a corona virus”. A greengrocer in a south German tourist metropolis has banned Chinese tourists from entering his shop. (AP)
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Head of state Xi: China will be even stronger after the virus
China ’s President Xi Jinping is convinced that his country will win the fight against the corona virus. According to online China Daily newspaper , Xi said late Tuesday night (local time) that he was confident that China would become even stronger and more prosperous after winning the epidemic. The Chinese people have come together and started a “war” against the virus. The measures that had been taken had had positive results, Xi said.
Xi is also cited, the concerted efforts of the Chinese people, the advantage of the country ‘s system, which made it possible to pool all available resources to deal with the major problems, the strong material and technological support and the extensive experience in responding to the Contagion will allow China gain control of the epidemic.
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China’s President Xi Jinping.
Image: Imago Images / Xie Huanchi –
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WHO chief compares virus threat to terrorist threat
Given the growing number of coronavirus infections outside of China , WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has one “very serious threat to the rest of the world ” spoken. “Viruses can have more powerful consequences than any terrorist act,” he said.
At the start of a two-day expert conference in Geneva, WHO chief Tedros called on Tuesday all affected countries to share their medical and scientific data. “The most important thing is to stop the spread and save lives,” he said. He hoped that “one of the outcomes of this meeting will be a common road map for research” that scientists and funders worldwide could use as a guide.
Colleagues in China who were connected via video link, said Tedros: “We help you we wish you courage, patience, success and good health in this situation with its extremely difficult circumstances. “
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Image: Denis Balibouse / Reuters –
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China ’s foreign minister comes to Munich and Berlin
Visited after months of frosty relations between Beijing and Berlin China ’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi Germany again. As Foreign Minister Spokesman Geng Shuang said to the press in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang Yi will attend the Munich Security Conference from Thursday to Saturday and conduct regular strategic dialogue with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) in Berlin.
Wang Yi also wanted to in Munich Chinese efforts to fight the new corona virus as well as international cooperation on the project, said Geng Shuang.
Wang Yi had canceled the strategic dialogue originally planned for last October out of anger at a Meuse meeting with Joshua Wong, a leader of the Hong Kong democracy movement. Maas had spoken to Wong in September during an event in Berlin. Relationships have been tense since then. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman did not address the differences.
The fifth round of dialogue will focus on bilateral relations, China ’s relationship with Europe, joint efforts to maintain multilateralism and free trade, and regional and international conflicts, the spokesman said. He added that Wang Yi too other top German politicians will see. (AP)
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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Image: Ralf Hirschberger / dpa –
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Deutsche Bank warns of recession caused by corona virus
The economists at Deutsche Bank believe that a recession in Germany is possible due to the rapid spread of the new corona virus in China . “We expect the corona virus to dampen gross domestic product by 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter, so a technical recession in the winter half year is now increasingly likely “It says in a study published on Wednesday. Given that economic output could have shrunk by the end of 2019 due to the continuing weak economy , this would be the second consecutive quarter in a row. Economists call this a” technical recession “. The Federal Statistical Office will publish a first estimate for the final quarter of 2019 this Friday.
“The corona virus poses considerable risks for our forecast of a recovery in the global economy , as we previously assumed that China would revive the economy ,” emphasized the economists. “This is particularly true for Germany , whose exports slowed down in 2019, not least because of weak demand from China .” China is the most important trading partner of Europe’s larger economy : the mutual exchange of goods totaled more than 200 billion euros in 2019.
The experts believe it is possible that losses in the Chinese business can be made up for again. “If the spread of the coronavirus soon peaks as expected, demand may simply shift to the later course of 2020,” said Deutsche Bank. However, due to the above-average margins in China , even a temporary setback on profits is reflected , which should make companies even more cautious. (Reuters)
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Most of the sporting events planned in China have already been rescheduled or canceled. According to media reports, Formula 1 is also responding.
Tagesspiegel
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Investors are optimistic about the corona virus
The hope of a relaxation in the coronavirus epidemic continues to drive the Dax. Concerns about the economic consequences have faded into the background. The leading German index rose 0.3 percent to 13,673 points at the opening on Wednesday marked another record high , The Chinese authorities are now expecting new virus infections to peak before the end of the month. “Investors are confident that China will bring the situation under control. As a result, the focus is increasingly turning to the encouraging economic and corporate figures, “said market analyst Milan Cutkovic from AxiTrader.” After reaching a new all-time high in the German share index, things can now go up quickly. “
The Dax had already reached a record high of 13,668 points on Tuesday and had closed one percent up at 13,627.84 points thanks to the hope that the coronavirus epidemic would be overcome quickly. (Reuters)
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The number of people infected with viruses in Bavaria increases by two to 14
The number of people suffering from the new coronavirus in Bavaria rose by two to 14. The two new cases are related to the company from the district of Starnberg, which also employs most of the previously known cases, said the Bavarian Ministry of Health on Tuesday evening. The ministry will provide details on Wednesday.
So far, twelve cases have been known in Bavaria – eight employees of the car supplier Webasto and four family members. Webasto had announced that it would reopen its company headquarters in Stockdorf near Munich on Wednesday after two weeks. The manufacturer of convertible roofs and parking heaters closed the site with around 1,000 employees after one employee became infected with the virus. (Rtr)
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WHO: Coronavirus is now officially called “Covid-19”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the official name of the new coronavirus is “COVID-19 ”. CO stands for Corona, VI for Virus, D for Disease and 19 for the year it appeared. The WHO deliberately chose a name that did not refer to a place or an animal. (Rtr)
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So far, no Germans among newly infected people on a Japanese cruise ship
Among those tested positive for the corona virus
People are on the cruise ship “Diamond Princess” in Japan, according to the Embassy no Germans. The German representation in Tokyo reported on
Wednesday. The Japanese Ministry of Health previously had another 39 People – 29 passengers and ten crew members – an infection detected, the number of infected people rose to 174. Four people showed serious symptoms.
I also got one for quarantine
Responsible infected, reported the Japanese news agency Kyodo. The remaining of the approximately 3600 passengers and crew members are said to be until the 19th Remain aboard the quarantined ship in Yokohama on February. If
Japan will have everyone examined on board was still unclear. Ten German citizens are on board. (AP)
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The cruise ship “Diamond Princess”.
Image: Kim Kyung-hoon / Reuters –
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Mobile phone fair in Barcelona decides on Friday about possible cancellation
According to a media report, the organizers of the world ’s largest mobile communications fair, MWC in Barcelona, want to advise this Friday about a cancellation of the event due to the coronavirus risk. Many important exhibitors had previously announced that they would stay away from the fair this year.
The topic should be addressed at a regular committee meeting of the mobile phone provider organization GSMA in Barcelona, wrote the Spanish newspaper “La Vanguardia” on Wednesday. The GSMA initially did not comment on the report. At the weekend she last emphasized that the fair should take place from February 24 to 27, as planned, despite the risk of coronavirus – but with additional protective measures.
In the past few days, however, further cancellations have increased. On Tuesday alone, the chip giant Intel, the US telecom group AT&T and the Chinese smartphone provider Vivo announced that they would stay away from the Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year due to the coronavirus risks.
Large exhibitors such as Sony and Amazon, the telecom equipment supplier Ericsson, the South Korean electronics group LG and the chip manufacturer Nvidia had previously canceled.
The MWC is the world ’s most important event in the mobile communications industry and has grown steadily in recent years. (AP)
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At least 500 doctors and nurses infected in Wuhan
At least 500 people from the medical staff in the Chinese city of Wuhan are infected with the coronavirus COVID. In addition, there are 600 other suspected cases among doctors and nurses, the “South China Morning Post “Citing multiple sources in clinics. This leads to significant bottlenecks in the hospitals. The government has so far reported only on isolated cases and thus kept the drama of the problem secret.—
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39 other passengers infected by “Diamond Princess”
39 more people were tested positive for the virus on the cruise ship “Diamond Princess”, which is quarantined in Japan. This included a quarantine officer, said Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato. This brings the total number of infected people on the ship to 174, according to the public broadcaster NHK. (Reuters)
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195 U.S. citizens leave quarantine
In the United States, the first people can leave the quarantine station in California. The 195 U.S. citizens, most of whom were State Department employees, were flown out of Wuhan on January 29. The coronavirus was not found in any of the returnees. “They don’t need any additional tests, they don’t have to be avoided, they don’t have a new type of coronavirus ,” said the region’s medical officer, Cameron Kaiser. His department had posted a photo that shows people throwing away their masks in a quarantine closing ceremony. (Reuters)
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The death toll rises to 1,100
The number of fatalities in China due to the novel corona virus has risen to more than 1,100. The Chinese government said Wednesday that another 97 people in mainland China have died from the effects of the infection. The official total number of deaths in mainland China increased to 1113.
94 of the new deaths were recorded in Hubei province, where the epidemic started in December. The vast majority of deaths and contagions continue to occur in the province. The authorities have largely isolated Hubei from the outside world .
According to the Chinese government’s Health Committee, around 2,000 more cases of infection across mainland China have been confirmed since Tuesday. The official total number of illnesses there due to the virus now known as “Covid-19 ” thus grew to more than 44,600.
Outside of China, there are more than 400 other infections in around 25 countries. In Bavaria, two further infections with Covid-19 have now been detected, as the Ministry of Health in Munich announced on Tuesday evening. The number of cases of infection confirmed in Germany rose to 16. (AFP)
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Federal Reserve: Coronavirus could slow global growth
According to the US Federal Reserve, the corona virus should harm China’s economy and thus put a damper on global economic development. This also leads to increased uncertainty regarding the outlook for the American economy , central bank chief Jerome Powell said on Tuesday to members of the House of Representatives.
The uncertainties in trade policy had recently decreased, but now the corona virus was a new risk, said Powell. This could “lead to disruptions in China that affect the rest of the global economy ”. At the end of January, Powell had been more cautious. At the time, he said that because of the corona virus, a “certain disruption” to economic life in the world ’s second largest economy is very likely in the short term. At the time there had only been more than 100 confirmed deaths in China, now there are more than 1,000. (Dpa)
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Bundestag advises on prevention
The Bundestag will give advice on Wednesday (3.10 p.m.) on the preventive measures against the corona virus in Germany . The CDU / CSU and SPD have applied for a current hour. In view of the numerous false reports and rumors circulating, the government’s primary concern should be to objectify the discussion. (AP)
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