The cruise of the Aida Nova of the German shipping company Aida Cruises ends unplanned in Lisbon due to numerous corona cases among crew members. Although all infected people had only mild symptoms, “due to the current situation, we cannot continue the trip with Aida Nova to the Canary Islands as planned until January 5, 2022,” writes the company. That is why they have already started to organize the journey home for the guests. You should return by plane to Germany, Austria and Switzerland on Monday. (01/02/2022)
New drug against coronavirus
The federal government wants to use a new drug to treat severe Covid-19 courses in January. “I am confident that we will have put together the necessary package by the end of this month, so that we will have received deliveries of the drug and obtained emergency approval,” said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach World on sunday.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) is currently preparing such a national approval for the drug paxlovid. In the US, the competent authority issued an emergency license for Paxlovid before Christmas. The federal government has already bought a million packs of the drug. It is made by the US company Pfizer. (01/02/2022)
The incidence rises again slightly to 222.7
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 12,515 new corona infections within 24 hours. That’s 2,415 more cases than on Sunday a week ago, when 10,100 positive tests were reported. The nationwide seven-day incidence increases to 222.7 from 220.3 the previous day. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have been infected with the corona virus in the past seven days.
46 other people died related to the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths within one day to 112,155. The RKI points out that fewer tests will be carried out at the turn of the year and therefore fewer cases will probably be reported. (01/02/2022)
Lindner: Germany should be able to vaccinate the population in a month
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner wants to prepare Germany to be able to vaccinate the entire population within a short time in the face of possible further corona waves. “We don’t know how the pandemic will develop,” says Lindner Picture on sunday. “So we should soon be able to vaccinate the entire population within a month if necessary.” The necessary infrastructure must be created for this and access to sufficient vaccine must be secured. “Germany should never again be caught unprepared by a wave of infections.”
The FDP politician also announced a corona tax law. “A number of aid measures are created or expanded in it,” says Lindner. For example, losses in 2022 and 2023 should be offset against profits from previous years. Nobody should be ruined by tax debts during the pandemic.(01/02/2022)
France shortens quarantine for fully vaccinated people
Despite a record number of new corona infections, France is shortening its quarantine periods. Fully vaccinated people would only have to be in quarantine for seven days from Monday in the event of an infection. “The isolation can be lifted after five days if the test is negative,” said French health minister Olivier Veran of the Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. Those who were not vaccinated would have to self-isolate for ten days. There is a possibility of ending the isolation after seven days if the test is negative.
France reported 219,126 new infections on New Year’s Day. The number has passed the 200,000 mark for the fourth day in a row and is the second highest since the pandemic began. (01/02/2022)
More than 162,500 new infections in England
England has a record of 162,572 new infections in the past 24 hours. The data for the whole of Great Britain are initially not available due to different reporting procedures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the New Year’s weekend.
According to a survey by the Reuters news agency, more than 286.63 million people worldwide have contracted the corona virus. 5.78 million died from or with the virus. In the USA alone, 54.13 million infections and almost 827,000 deaths have been counted to date. (01/01/2022)
25.8 percent of Germans have not yet been vaccinated
With 112,000 vaccinations on the last day of 2021, Germany accounts for 71.2 percent of the population with basic immunization. For this – depending on the vaccine – two vaccine doses are necessary. According to the Robert Koch Institute, 38.7 percent of the population have already received a booster (as of Saturday, 9:01 am). However, 25.8 percent have not yet been vaccinated – i.e. every fourth citizen or 21.5 million people. However, this also includes around four million children who are four years of age or younger and for whom no vaccine has yet been approved.
The RKI also points out that the vaccination quotas are to be understood as minimum vaccination quotas, “since 100% coverage cannot be achieved by the reporting system”. As a rule, there are also a number of late registrations. The researchers assume that the actual vaccination rate could be up to five percentage points higher.
A total of 164.3 million vaccine doses have been delivered in Germany to date. 72 percent of this is accounted for by the vaccine “Comirnaty”, which is manufactured by the Mainz-based company Biontech in partnership with the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Comirnaty was approved for the first time for the countries of the European Union on December 21, 2020. This was followed by the vaccines from Moderna (“Spikevax”), Astrazeneca (“Vaxzevria”), Janssen (better known under the name of the parent company Johnson & Johnson) and most recently on December 20, 2021 as the fourth vaccine “Nuvaxovid” from Novavax. (01/01/2022)
Macron: 2022 could be the end of the pandemic
In his New Year’s Eve address, French President Emmanuel Macron swore his compatriots to further hardships in the corona pandemic, but at the same time struck optimistic tones. “The coming weeks will be difficult, we all know that,” said Macron in the speech broadcast on Friday evening. “The virus is circulating, and it will circulate even more.”
Many activities in daily life would be canceled again because of the Omikron variant, and economic cuts would again be expected in various industries. “But unlike at the same time last year when the restrictions were much tighter, we now have the weapon of vaccination,” said Macron. He is “decidedly optimistic” about the future. 2022 could be the year of the end of the pandemic, “I want to believe that with you”. He again appealed to the unvaccinated in the country to get vaccinated after all. (31.12.2021)
Lauterbach calls for caution with self-irony
Karl Lauterbach was already known as a warning and warner in the pandemic before he recently became Minister of Health. At the turn of the year, the SPD politician showed that he can apparently laugh at himself. “Don’t overdo it. I see you. Greetings, your Karl”, is written on a meme, that he shared on Twitter. The picture shows how he secretly looks through a window from outside.
The edited photo was not entirely wrong, wrote the minister and wished him a “nice last evening in 2021”. He “appeal to everyone, one last time, to be careful” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/. “Testing, very small groups, face masks where necessary and watching TV alone if symptoms occur,” he continued. (31.12.2021)
South Africa loosens corona measures
Data from the South African health authorities suggest that the country has already overcome the fourth corona wave. This was announced by the government and again relaxed the measures with which the spread of the particularly contagious Omicron variant should be prevented. With immediate effect, there are no more curfews in the African country, and alcohol can also be sold again. However, 20 percent of all corona tests in South Africa are still positive. It is still compulsory to wear masks in public.
“The speed at which the omicron wave built, peaked, and then dropped was amazing,” said Fareed Abdullah of the South African Medical Research Council New York Times. “It was more of a spring tide than a wave.” The number of deaths increased only marginally.
Some scientists predict similar patterns in other countries. However, others emphasize that it is difficult to make predictions due to the different age structures, lifestyles and previous history of the pandemic. (31.12.2021)