Brazil is the first country in Latin America to have confirmed more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, the number of deaths has now reached 1056. Almost 20,000 infections have now been registered. On February 26, a person in Brazil was the first country in South and Latin America to test positive for the pathogen Sars-CoV-2, which triggers the lung disease Covid-19. The right-wing president of the Portuguese-speaking state, Jair Bolsonaro, has been making headlines over the past few weeks for downplaying the dangerous nature of the virus.
+++ 01:50 hospitals prepared for Easter +++
The hospitals in Germany expect sufficient capacity for the treatment of corona patients at Easter. “We do not expect overcrowded emergency rooms due to suspected corona,” said Gerald Gass, President of the German Hospital Society, the newspapers of the Funke media group. He was “optimistic that the care of the Covid 19 patients over Easter is ensured without bottlenecks”. The capacities of the clinics are “still not exhausted”. Gass emphasized that the condition was always “that the infection curve should be kept low”.
+++ 00:56 France now counts 13,200 dead +++
In France, the number of deaths related to Covid-19 has increased to around 13,200. The French authorities report 987 new deaths. With 980 new deaths, the UK had previously reported more deaths in one day than Italy, the country most affected by the pandemic, has done so far. In France, deaths in old people’s homes have increased.
+++ 00:09 Juncker criticizes border closings +++
Former EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker criticizes the entry restrictions that Germany and many other countries have imposed in the wake of the Corona crisis: “That Germany simply closed its borders to a country like mine, to Luxembourg, to which 200,000 Germans each Commuting to work every day left a very bitter aftertaste, “Juncker told Die Welt and other European newspapers. Juncker expressed his lack of understanding that “States that signed the first Schengen Agreement 25 years ago come up with the idea overnight that a simple border closure is enough to meet such a major challenge.” According to the report, the former President of the Commission said that health protection – especially in the case of epidemics – should in future be the responsibility of the EU.
+++ 23:35 Bulgaria extends measures until mid-May +++
Bulgaria is also extending the restrictions in the wake of the Corona crisis. The protective measures are now to apply until May 13th. Then the state of emergency that has been in force since March 13 is also to end. The Bulgarians are not allowed to leave the capital Sofia and the other 26 regional centers without a permit and good reason. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and petrol stations are open. With a population of just under seven million people, the poorest EU country with around 300 hospitals has a relatively large number of clinics – but the province lacks money, facilities and staff in many places.
+++ 22:50 Pope compares dead nurses with fallen soldiers +++
Thousands of pilgrims normally take part in the procession of the cross.
(Photo: AP)
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The Easter celebrations in the Vatican are largely closed to the public this year. Pope Francis can be seen on TV. In a live broadcast on Rai 1, he compared the nurses who died in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic with soldiers in the war. The “doctors, nurses, nurses, nuns and priests” who died in the course of their work “fell” like soldiers at the front, “said Francis. “They gave their lives out of love.” In the early evening, Francis celebrated the Passion Office in the deserted St. Peter’s Basilica.
+++ 22:14 Expert: Covid-19 drug may come in 2020 +++
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices is expecting the first reliable results from current studies on drugs against Covid-19 by late summer. “If the data give it, I am very confident that we can issue an approval this year,” says head of institute Karl Broich to the Bonn “General-Anzeiger”. “But it is also clear: So far we have no sufficient evidence of efficacy for any drug.”
+++ 21:55 Turkey imposes exit ban on 31 cities +++
The Turkish government has imposed an exit ban in 31 cities this weekend due to the Corona crisis. This also included the country’s largest city, the metropolis of Istanbul, as Governor Ali Yerlikaya confirmed in a tweet. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the capital city of Ankara and the major cities of Izmir and Antalya are also affected. The ban applies from midnight and until midnight on Monday night, the tweet said. It was initially unclear whether and to what extent there are exceptions to the announced exit ban.
+++ 21:33 Bolsonaro again ignores Corona measures +++
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has once again stood out for disregarding the recommendations on social distance in the Corona crisis. The son of the head of state, Eduardo Bolsonaro, tweeted a video of his father’s visit to a bakery in the capital city of Brasília. It shows how the President eats, drinks and can be photographed with several people standing next to him. Some people wear face masks, but Bolsonaro doesn’t. Bakeries in Brasília are currently only allowed to sell their products for out-of-home consumption because of the new corona virus, according to the news portal “G1”.
+++ 21:03 More than 13,000 coronavirus deaths in France +++
More than 13,000 people in France have now died of coronavirus infections. 987 deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, said Health Director General Jérôme Salomon. The total number of deaths rose to 13,197. Among the victims was a child infected with the novel corona virus, said Salomon. However, it is still unclear whether it actually died from Covid 19 disease. “The reasons for his death seem complex.”
+++ 20:39 Trump expects fewer than 100,000 deaths in the United States +++
US President Donald Trump believes that the U.S. will have fewer casualties as a result of Covid-19 than initially feared. There will be fewer than 100,000 fatalities, Trump said. He hinted that the infection rate in the US is nearing its peak. The situation in the particularly affected cities of New Orleans and Detroit is stabilizing. According to Reuters calculations, the death toll in the US exceeded 18,100 on Friday.
Note: The most important developments of the previous day on the current situation around the global coronavirus pandemic can she read here.
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