A number of corona measures were relaxed nationwide on Monday. Chancellor Merkel made a short statement – and appealed to the population. All information in the news blog.
There are already over 4.1 million people worldwide using the Corona virus infected, more than 283,000 sufferers have died. There are over 7,500 fatalities in Germany. However, many countries around the world have started to gradually loosen restrictions to combat Covid-19.
Chancellor Merkel: “New phase of the pandemic”
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) made a short statement after a video conversation with the Harz district health department, the district administrator Martin Skiebe and the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff. In it, Merkel repeatedly appealed to the German population: “We are entering a new phase of the pandemic.” It was now necessary “that with all the easing we really have certainty that people will stick to the basic requirements,” said Merkel. This includes maintaining the distance, wearing a mouth and nose guard and taking care of each other. “This is very important,” the Chancellor ended her short speech.
Putin declares end of corona-related paid vacation
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the end of paid leave that has been in place for more than a month due to the corona crisis. “Starting tomorrow, May 12th, the paid vacation that will apply across the country and across all economic sectors will end,” said the head of state in a televised speech. The fight against the corona pandemic is not yet over, Putin warned.
In a speech on Russian television: Vladimir Putin warned that the fight against the corona pandemic was not yet over. (Source: imago images)
The danger remains, he emphasized in his speech to the nation, which is a signal for a gradual relaxation of the corona restrictions. Putin had declared April to be the paid vacation month in Russia. This was intended to slow the spread of the corona pandemic.
Corona protests: Minister calls for sanctions for violations
Thuringia’s Minister of Health Heike Werner (left) has called for the police to act more consistently at protest events against anti-corona requirements. “I expect the police to be better prepared for the next demonstrations,” said Werner in Erfurt to the German Press Agency. The security authorities would have to learn from the experiences of the recent protests, in which people, for example, repeatedly failed to keep their distance from others or were on the move without a mouthguard.
If participants demonstrably violate hygiene regulations, Werner considers sanctions to be appropriate. “It’s also a question of justice to all those who abide by the rules,” she said.
Covid-19 clinic finished on Berlin exhibition grounds
A Corona reserve hospital was built on the Berlin exhibition grounds within a few weeks. Initially, around 500 infected and Covid-19 patients could be isolated and treated if the Berlin clinics reached their limits in the course of the pandemic. “Because the pictures from Italy, Spain and New York showed us that well-positioned hospital systems can be overloaded,” said health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) at the official opening of the new treatment center on Monday. A total of up to 1,000 spare beds could be created there.
The Corona treatment center on the Berlin exhibition grounds: If the worst comes to the worst, there is space for around 500 Covid-19 patients. (Source: Kay Nietfeld / dpa)
Restrictions in the Coesfeld could be relaxed
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister of Health Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) sees opportunities that the easing of the corona protection measures in the district of Coesfeld no longer needs to be postponed. If the infection process concentrates on the area of the closed slaughterhouse and there are no other infections in the area, restrictions could possibly be withdrawn at the weekend in the district of Coesfeld, Laumann said.
After the outbreak of corona infections in the slaughterhouse for the Coesfeld district, the country had postponed many easing events until May 18. This affects, among other things, the opening of restaurants, fitness studios and dance schools. Even large shops in the Coesfeld district were not allowed to open more than 800 square meters of retail space on Monday.
Germany: 750 million euros for special vaccine research program
The federal government is funding the development of a vaccine against the coronavirus with up to 750 million euros. Federal research minister Anja Karliczek said in Berlin that two thirds of this was due to the expansion of studies, the rest to securing production in Germany later. A special program will be launched for this. The exact funding guidelines are now being worked out, there should be no double funding. “Developing and manufacturing a vaccine is the key challenge to bring the current pandemic under control,” said Karliczek. It is the key to living a normal life again, the research minister said.
The new special program complements Germany’s internationally committed funds. A global alliance to develop a corona vaccine had raised € 7.4 billion in pledges last week. 525 million euros came from Germany.
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As soon as a vaccine is found, it should be produced “on a large scale”, the research minister said. “We still cannot expect miracles,” she said. One has to be prepared for setbacks in vaccine research, unfortunately that is one of them. As before, it was assumed that no vaccine would be found before 2021 or even 2022.
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Cologne Cathedral reopened to tourists
The Cologne Cathedral is open to tourists again after an eight-week break – but subject to conditions. After church services had been possible again since the beginning of the month in the Corona crisis, the cathedral should gradually be made accessible to more people in a responsible manner, said a cathedral spokesman in Cologne. “The cathedral should be open to everyone.”
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One of the requirements is that a maximum of 200 visitors may stay in the cathedral at the same time. The mouth protection obligation applies to visitors. You can only go through a certain route in the church. Guided tours and climbing the south tower are not yet possible, the spokesman said. The choir aisle around the Epiphany was also closed due to construction work.
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Since March 15, the Cologne Cathedral was only open for silent prayer because of the corona pandemic. According to the cathedral chapter, an average of 16,000 to 20,000 people visit the cathedral every day. It is one of the most visited places of worship in Germany.
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Merkel once again warns of caution in the corona crisis
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) once again called for caution in dealing with the pandemic, given the demonstrations against conditions in the corona crisis. It was reported that many people had been shopping without protective masks at the weekend, Merkel said according to information from the German press agency from participants on Monday in a video section of the CDU Presidium. In part, this behavior was even seen as a test of courage, the Chancellor criticized. But the command is still to adhere to the applicable distance rules.
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Merkel went on to say that only in two to three weeks would it be known how the loosening of the corona restrictions decided last week had an impact on the number of infections. She also announced that this Wednesday in the Bundestag, during the government survey, would once again comment on the measures relevant to the federal government for classifying the pandemic. Merkel and the federal government had recently been accused of causing confusion with different key figures.
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Wuhan reports new coronavirus infections again
In the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, the authorities have reported new infections with the corona virus for the second day in a row. In a residential area of the city, five new infections were confirmed on Monday, the authorities said. In the quarter, an infection was found in an 89-year-old man on Sunday – the first in more than a month.
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The central Chinese industrial metropolis of Wuhan is the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. To curb the virus, authorities quarantined the entire city for more than two months. Since the curfew was lifted a good four weeks ago, Wuhan has actually been considered a “low-risk” area. In the affected neighborhood, however, the infection risk level has now been raised from “low” to “medium”.
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Temperature measurement among students: In Wuhan, the corona restrictions were relaxed after more than two months. (Source: Chinatopix / AP / dpa)
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Hamburg police found many violations of corona rules
The Hamburg police discovered a number of violations of the corona-related contact restrictions last weekend. 220 administrative offenses were initiated and 120 dismissals were pronounced, a spokeswoman said. Read more about it here. What rules apply in your state See here.
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Number of new deaths in Spain decreased
The number of coronavirus deaths reported daily in Spain has dropped to its lowest level in seven weeks. The Ministry of Health reports 123 new deaths. A total of 26,744 people can be proven to have died as a result of infection with the new virus in Spain. The number of confirmed infections rose by 3,046 to 227,436 within 24 hours.
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Russia reports record increase in new infections
Russia reports a new high with 11,656 new infections. This brought the number of proven infections to 221,344. Infections in Russia have increased by more than 10,000 for days. The authorities attribute this to an increased test program. The number of deaths rose by 94 within 24 hours to 2,009.
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Coesfeld: Cases further increased at the weekend
In the Coesfeld district, the number of infections increased further after a corona outbreak in a meat company. A district spokesman said 780 infections were recorded in the district on Sunday, 35 more than on Saturday. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections in the district was just under 96 and thus significantly above the specified upper limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days. Many of the loosening of the corona requirements, for example for restaurants and shops, planned from Monday onwards will be postponed in the district for a week, as the district announced.
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Among those affected in the Coesfeld district are 230 infected people from the Westfleisch plant. 952 of the approximately 1,200 employees have already been tested there, said a spokesman for the company. The location remains closed. On Sunday there were also mass tests in a Westfleisch factory in Hamm. Around 1,000 employees were tested there, the rest should follow on Monday, said the Westfleisch spokesman. There were no results for the tests in Hamm on Monday. Where the upper limit was also exceeded read here.
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Westfleisch wholesale slaughterhouse: In Coesfeld, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants has already been exceeded. (Source: Kirchner-Media / imago images)
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Experts: Corona crisis could promote vaccination readiness
Many people are eagerly awaiting vaccination against the new coronavirus. But there are also opposite views: At the weekend’s protest demonstrations against state measures to combat the pandemic, there were also opponents of vaccination. According to expert Bernd Harder from the Society for the Scientific Study of Parasciences, the corona crisis could, in the medium term, induce vaccination skeptics to rely more on vaccinations in the future. “Because they see what a world without vaccinations could look like.”
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The pandemic also shows us how viruses can threaten our society, our prosperity and our existence. “My impression is that the vast majority of the population is very inclined to the idea of vaccination,” concludes Christian Bogdan, an infection immunologist from Erlangen, who is also a member of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is on.
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Warning of problems when starting daycare and school operations
The city and municipal association warns of massive difficulties in starting school and daycare in the coming weeks. “We have to organize a shift operation so that there are never too many children in the school building at the same time,” association president Uwe Brandl told the newspaper “Welt” on Monday. “We have to adjust the bus cycle times so that all students come to schools.” In rural areas, separate bus routes would have to be organized for this.
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According to the previous requirements, there must be tendering procedures to find the cheapest entrepreneur. “If we continue to do this, we won’t be able to establish a bus service until October,” said Bradl. “We need quick decisions, including decisions that may take place outside of the previous public procurement practice.”
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Spahn demands consistent action on site
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has asked the authorities in the states and municipalities to take consistent action in the fight against the corona virus. “We need the courageous, comprehensive approach on site,” stressed Spahn on Sunday evening in the “Today Journal” of the ZDF. It is very important to quickly understand all infections and isolate contacts. Only if the counties acted immediately could the numbers be prevented from rising again nationwide.
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The federal government had largely given the federal states a free hand last week to relax the corona requirements. However, a kind of emergency mechanism was agreed: According to this, strict restrictions should apply again in the region concerned if more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants are registered within a week. There are now five locations in Germany where this upper limit is exceeded. Read more here.
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Spahn defended the agreement against criticism. “It works,” he said. It is important that everyone stands together. The debate is becoming increasingly polarized, as demonstrated by the demonstrations against the Corona requirements. Politicians must therefore explain and explain the necessary measures even better. It was far too early to give the all-clear: “We are still in the middle of this pandemic,” warned Spahn.
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Jens Spahn: The Federal Minister of Health calls for quick action in the regions. (Source: Peter Kneffel / dpa)
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In order to make reading easier and reduce loading times, the editors start the news blog again at this point. You can read about the previous developments in the corona crisis here.
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