Germany removes all countries from the high-risk list. The US government is planning a new campaign to treat Corona. A protest was broken up in New Zealand. The developments in the live blog.
06:15 a.m
Police break up protests in Wellington
The police in New Zealand have begun to break up a protest against compulsory corona vaccination in front of Parliament in Wellington that has been going on for more than three weeks. Hundreds of officers in riot gear were deployed to evacuate the camp set up in front of the parliament building 23 days ago.
The police said there were also clashes between activists and emergency services. At least three officers were injured. “We are particularly concerned that those with good intentions are now outnumbered by those willing to use force,” said Police Chief Andrew Coster.
About 60 protesters were arrested, reported the broadcaster Radio New Zealand. The police also used pepper spray during the eviction, while the demonstrators sprayed the officers with fire extinguishers.
5:00 a.m
Biden announces new initiative with corona drugs
The US government is launching a new initiative to treat Covid-19 with corona drugs. “People can be tested in a pharmacy and, if the test is positive, receive the antiviral pills on the spot. And it’s free of charge,” said US President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address.
The White House said the program should start in pharmacies and select stores later this month. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in the United States on December 23.
“I’ve ordered more pills than anyone else in the world. Pfizer is working overtime to get us a million pills this month and more than double that next month,” Biden said. The drug is intended to treat positively tested corona patients from the age of twelve with mild to moderate symptoms and a high risk of a serious course of the disease.
4:15 a.m
Germany removes all countries from the high-risk list
Germany removes all corona high-risk areas from the list. The regulation will come into force on Thursday at midnight, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on its website. “With the widespread occurrence of the omicron variant, it becomes apparent that the ability of this variant to cause a threatening disease is less severe compared to the previously dominant variants,” the RKI explains the decision. The classification as a risk area is made after a joint analysis and decision by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland.