Coronavirus, Covid-19 and Sars-CoV-2: The most important developments on Friday

This article is updated continuously

Pneumococcal vaccine is running out

11:32 am: Pneumococcal vaccines are hard to come by in Germany. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn earlier this week called on people over the age of 60 to be vaccinated against pneumococci. The pathogens can lead to pneumonia and pose a particular risk if the coronavirus is infected at the same time. Due to the high demand, there is a supply shortage especially for the standard vaccine Pneumovax, reports the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

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Champions League and Europa League cancel games

11:16 am: The European Football Union has suspended play in the Champions League and Europa League because of the Corona crisis. This applies to the remaining first knockout round of the Champions League and the second leg in the knockout round of the Europa League. In addition, the Continental Association announced that the draw for the quarter-final duels scheduled for March 20 will be postponed.

The rejection affects Bayern Munich in the Champions League, who would have played against Chelsea on Wednesday. In the Europa League, the games scheduled for Thursday from Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg will be canceled.

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Bavaria severely limits the number of visits to hospitals

11:06 a.m .: In order to protect older and sick people from being infected with the coronavirus, Bavaria severely limits the number of visits to hospitals. Health Minister Melanie Huml (CSU) said that one visitor per patient is scheduled for one hour each day. In certain situations, visits remained necessary for “humanitarian reasons”, such as when the patients were children or when someone was dying.

Lower Saxony closes all schools

10:49 a.m .: Lower Saxony closes schools and daycare centers from Monday to Bavaria, Berlin and Saarland due to the spread of the corona virus. This was announced by Minister of Culture Grant Hendrik Tonne (SPD). After two weeks of unscheduled closure, two weeks of Easter vacation would begin seamlessly on March 30th. The Abitur exams should take place.

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The Bundesliga wants to stop playing next week

10:45 a.m .: The German Football League (DFL) reacts to the spread of the corona virus: At the weekend, the Bundesliga should still take place with the exclusion of spectators, then you will be suspended on April 2. The DFL wants to submit this proposal from the Presidium to the professional clubs. Read here more.

Slovakia is closing borders

10:32 am: After the airports, Slovakia has closed its borders to travelers by road and rail. Border crossings to all neighboring countries except Poland have been strictly controlled since this morning. Only those who are resident in the country or have a valid Slovak passport are allowed to enter the country. Freight trains can continue to drive.

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As of Thursday evening, Slovakia had 21 Covid-19 infections and no casualties from the corona virus.

Nepal and China prohibit climbing Everest

10:12 a.m .: Due to the corona virus, Nepal canceled all permits to climb Mount Everest in the main climbing season in spring. In addition, there will be no visas on arrival until the end of April, a spokesman for the Nepalese tourism authority said. Previously, China, from where you can climb the 8848-meter mountain, had canceled the expeditions.

Central Council of Muslims advises against Friday prayers in mosques

9:54 a.m .: The Central Council of Muslims has called for Friday prayers to be abandoned due to the spread of the corona virus. “As of today, we strongly recommend suspending Friday prayers in the mosques until further notice – at least until the end of March,” said Aiman ​​Mazyek, Chairman of the Central Council, in Cologne on Thursday. Events and other activities in mosques should also be canceled, Mazyek said. The decision was made after consultation with Islamic scholars, the health authorities and the federal government.

Local elections are held in Bavaria

9:50 am: The Bavarian municipal election is to be held next Sunday despite the Corona crisis. “The local election will take place,” said Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), all the arrangements had been made. At the same time, the possibility of postal voting should be made easier again. According to Söder, all voters will automatically receive postal voting documents by post for the run-off elections in two weeks.

Berlin closes schools and day care centers

9:38 am: In view of the increasing number of corona infections, schools and daycare centers in Berlin will be phasing out from next week. The Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) said. The closure is scheduled to begin on Monday with the upper level centers.

Bavaria issues a ban on visiting nursing homes and old people’s homes

9:32 a.m .: Due to the spread of the corona virus, the Free State largely prohibits the visit of old people’s and nursing homes. The right to visit for relatives is significantly restricted, said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). In order to protect the risk group of the elderly, childcare should not take place with the help of grandparents.

Luxembourg closes schools and kindergartens

9:25 a.m .: Luxembourg also closes its schools for two weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. From Monday, there will be no classes in classrooms, the Luxembourg government announced on Thursday evening. Daycare centers and other childcare facilities should also be closed. The University of Luxembourg is switching to e-learning.

The Luxembourg government also banned events with more than 100 participants indoors and with more than 500 participants in the open air. Visits to old people’s homes, nursing homes and hospitals are also prohibited. There could be exceptions, it said. The number of detected corona infections in the Grand Duchy has risen to 26.

First Covid 19 case in China on November 17th

9:09 a.m .: The first case of infection with the novel corona virus can be traced back to November 17. According to documents from the Chinese government, which the “South China Morning Post“The first person infected may have been a 55-year-old man from Hubei Province.

One to five new cases per day have been identified since the date. A month later, on December 17, the number of known cases rose for the first time in double digits.

Each child infects two or three others

8:41 am: Statistically, every child infected with corona infects two or three other children. The virologist Alexander Kekulé said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. In order to curb the spread of the virus, he believes schools and kindergartens throughout Germany should remain closed. This measure is “absolutely no alternative” to prevent an “infection avalanche” that is difficult to stop.

“Unfortunately, politics has been lagging behind here for weeks,” said Kekulé. He is the director of the Institute for Medical Microbiology at the University Hospital Halle (Saale). The reported numbers of infections reflect a level of ten days ago. The reason is the incubation period of the Sars-CoV-2 virus and the time that elapses before the diagnosis.

Latin America is increasingly sealing itself off

7.55 a.m .: The states of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela announce temporary bans on flights from Europe. In Argentina, head of state Alberto Fernández said flights from Europe, including the United States and China, would be stopped for 30 days. In Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro also banned all flights from Europe for one month. Similar flight bans have been imposed by the governments of the other three South American countries. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Europeans are no longer allowed to enter the country due to the current corona situation. (Read here: USA waives 30-day entry ban from Europe due to corona virus)

According to government circles, Bavaria is also closing schools and daycare centers

7.45 a.m .: Schools in Bavaria will also remain closed from Monday. All kindergartens, schools and day care centers will be closed by the start of the Easter holidays on April 6, such as the German Press Agency and the “Southgerman newspaper“learned from government circles.

Saarland closes schools and day care centers

7.30 a.m .: The Saarland was the first federal state to announce on Friday night that due to the corona virus, schools and daycare centers across the country will be closed by the end of the Easter holidays. This happened because of the situation of the Saarland as a border country, said the State Chancellery. Emergency care for families is ensured. (Read more here)

Shareholder meeting endangers general meetings

6.55 a.m .: The new type of corona virus also jeopardizes the conduct of general meetings of public companies. A ban on large events with more than 1000 participants would only affect a few very large stock corporations, said capital market law expert Frank Regelin from the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm in Frankfurt. “Most general meetings are much smaller.” The German Stock Exchange (DAI) demanded that individual tests be allowed. Companies that are legally obliged to hold general meetings should decide in dialogue with the responsible authorities whether and under what conditions they are possible.

India reports first coronavirus deaths

6.50 a.m .: In India, a patient died of Covid-19 for the first time. It is a 76-year-old man with the pre-existing diseases of high blood pressure and asthma, according to the Indian Ministry of Health. Before he started coughing and developing a fever last week, he had spent the whole of February in Saudi Arabia. When he returned to India, he initially showed no symptoms, according to the authorities. A suspicion of Covid-19 was found in the hospital, but the patient passed away on Tuesday before the final confirmation was available. Because of the corona pandemic, India had canceled all tourist visas for a month this week. Only those who are already in the country are allowed to stay.

Ski areas in Salzburg and Tyrol are closed

6.45 a.m .: Tyrol and Salzburg close all cable cars and end the winter season early. The state governments of the two Austrian federal states announced this. The reason is the attempts to slow the spread of the corona virus. The cable cars are only open until Sunday inclusive, the hotels and other accommodation facilities up to and including Monday. Monday was chosen so that an “orderly return trip of the guests” from the ski areas could take place, it was said from Innsbruck and almost word for word from Salzburg.

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First coronavirus death in Norway

6.40 a.m .: Norway has reported its first death from the novel corona virus. An elderly person died on Thursday from the pathogen-induced lung disease Covid-19, said the University Hospital Oslo in the short message service Twitter. According to the health authorities, there are 621 detected coronavirus infections in Norway.

The death in Oslo is the second coronavirus death in Scandinavia. Sweden had reported a first death on Wednesday. As a measure to curb the corona virus, the government in Oslo ordered all schools, bars and other public facilities to be closed on Thursday.

Disney closes amusement parks in the U.S. and Paris

6:35 a.m .: Due to the spread of the corona virus, Disney closes its amusement parks in the US states of California and Florida as well as in Paris. Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney World in Orlando in Florida and Disneyland Paris will close this weekend until at least the end of March, as the US company announced. The measure was intended to protect workers and visitors, it said.

Disney also canceled all of its cruise ship’s new cruises scheduled for Saturday. The group also postponed the theatrical release of its new productions “Mulan”, “X-Men: New Mutants” and “Antlers” for an indefinite period.

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Share prices in Tokyo and Seoul collapse again

6.30 a.m .: After the heavy price losses in the USA and Europe, Asia’s leading exchange broke again in Tokyo. The Nikkei index for 225 leading stocks lost almost eight percent in morning trading. The stock market barometer recorded a massive discount of 1478.49 points at an intermediate level of 17,081.14. The index fell below 18,000 for the first time since November 2016.

On the Seoul stock exchange, prices are still in a downward spiral. Panic sales led to the leading index Kospi dropping by almost 150 points or more than eight percent to 1685.08 points in the morning by 11:10 am local time. The index has not been this low in eight and a half years.

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