The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 88,961 new infections within 24 hours on Thursday. That is 7,206 fewer cases than on Thursday a week ago, when 96,167 corona infections were reported. The nationwide seven-day incidence drops to 502.4 from 507.1 the previous day. 197 other people died in connection with the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths to 137,184.
The number of infections is currently only of limited significance. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI – due to overworked health authorities and because not all infected people have a PCR test done. Only these count in the statistics. That is why we use the SZ Corona Dashboard to show an average value from the reports of the past seven days, which is intended to compensate for fluctuations from day to day. You can find more information on this in the transparency blog, further data and graphics on the pandemic here. (05/12/2022)
North Korea confirms corona outbreak for the first time and imposes lockdown
North Korea officially confirms the first corona outbreak since the pandemic began more than two years ago and orders a nationwide lockdown. A sub-variant of the highly contagious omicron variant has been discovered in the city of Pyongyang, the state news agency KCNA reports. Details of the number of cases or the origin of the infection were not disclosed.
Dictator Kim Jong-un ordered a lockdown for several cities. At a party meeting Kim attended, orders were issued to adjust national quarantine measures for the “maximum emergency,” it said. Kim instructed “all cities and counties across the country to thoroughly lock down their areas” to “completely prevent the transmission of the vicious virus,” according to the KCNA news agency.
According to reports, planned vaccine deliveries to the internationally relatively isolated country were stopped because North Korea was unwilling to comply with the rules of the Covax initiative, with which the World Health Organization, among other things, wants to promote an internationally fair distribution of vaccines. In August 2020, North Korea said it was developing its own vaccine, but has said little about vaccines since. Corona could have devastating consequences in North Korea if it spreads, as the country has an outdated healthcare system and probably no vaccines. According to a recent United Nations report, North Korea and Eritrea are the only two countries in the world that have not administered vaccines, Bloomberg news agency writes. (05/12/2022)
More than a million corona deaths in the USA
According to a count by the Reuters news agency, more than a million people have died in connection with the virus in the United States since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. That’s one death for every 327 Americans.
So far, 6.7 million deaths have been confirmed worldwide. The actual death toll, including those who died as an indirect result of the virus outbreak, is estimated at 15 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). (05/12/2022)
EU announces end of mask requirement in air traffic
The obligation to wear mouth and nose protection at airports and during flights will be lifted in the European Union from May 16th. This was announced by the EU authorities for air traffic safety EASA and for health protection ECDC. The change is in line with the changed public transport requirements of national authorities across Europe, said EASA boss Patrick Ky.
Italy, France and other countries have already lifted corresponding corona measures. In Germany, masks are still compulsory on public transport. Airlines have been advised to encourage passengers to wear masks if this is still required for public transport in the respective country. ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said that even though it is no longer mandatory to wear mouth and nose protection, people should continue to keep their distance and wash their hands to avoid contagion. (05/11/2022)
Federal government dissolves Corona crisis team
About five months after it was set up, the Corona crisis team in the Federal Chancellery to coordinate nationwide vaccinations against the virus will be dissolved. In the meantime, there is a completely different situation with infections and vaccinations, said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin. The tasks of the crisis team headed by Major General Carsten Breuer would now be processed in the usual working structures of the federal government.
The crisis team started at the end of last year with more than ten employees and had around 30 members at its peak. It included experts from the responsible ministries as well as experts from the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance.
The Corona Expert Council, which was also founded by the then new government at the end of 2021, is not only specifically about vaccinations, but also about advising the government in general. The composition of the Council is diverse. The Corona Expert Council is currently in the process of preparing a statement on the situation in autumn and winter, says Hoffmann. (05/11/2022)
More poisoning with supposed corona cures
The number of emergency calls for poisoning with the supposed corona remedy chlorine dioxide has increased sharply since the beginning of the pandemic. There were seven emergency calls in 2019, compared to 50 last year, the NDR reported, citing the poison information center north in Göttingen. This year alone, 24 emergency calls related to chlorine dioxide have already been received. The Poison Information Center North records emergency calls for Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
The chlorine dioxide used as a disinfectant is considered in the “lateral thinker” scene as a remedy for diseases such as cancer, autism or corona, the report said. In some cases, parents also give their children the substance. The Bremen toxicologist Bernd Mühlbauer warned of this: “Chlorine dioxide is a toxic substance. It can dissolve mucous membranes.” The substance has no place in or on the body. He fears a high number of unreported cases, said Mühlbauer. (05/11/2022)
WHO criticizes China’s zero-Covid policy
The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized China’s zero-Covid strategy as disproportionate. “We don’t think that’s sustainable given how the virus is behaving and what we can expect for the future,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This is reported by the Bloomberg news agency.
It is extremely rare for the WHO to question a member country’s corona policy. At the beginning of the pandemic, the organization even faced criticism for being too lenient with China, where the virus was first detected. The Chinese authorities are currently pursuing the goal of avoiding as many Covid 19 cases in the population as possible – despite the high costs for the country’s economy and for world trade. Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan, said responses to Covid-19 should take into account individual rights and human rights, as well as the impact on the economy. In China, the WHO’s post with the criticism was removed from the Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Wechat shortly after publication. (05/11/2022)
New Zealand opens borders earlier than planned
New Zealand opens its international borders two months earlier than initially planned. From July 31 at 11:59 p.m., entry for travelers with tourist visas will be possible again, and cruise ships will then be able to call at New Zealand ports again, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
The country opened its borders to twice-vaccinated visitors from 60 visa-exempt countries for the first time in more than two years. It is one of the last countries in the Asia-Pacific region to start welcoming tourists again. (05/11/2022)
Infectiologist Addo expects the mask requirement to return
The infectiologist Marylyn Addo expects that the mask requirement will be reintroduced in Germany in winter. After a good summer, the number of cases would increase again in the fall, said Addo der Rheinische Post. “I assume that measures such as the obligation to wear masks will come back in winter – at least in public spaces and indoors, where it is difficult to keep your distance.” She is currently not expecting new lockdowns because of the growing immunity. Many people are vaccinated, although not enough, she said.
“The corona virus will be with us for years to come, but it could become endemic in 2023,” said Addo, who is a professor at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf. As with influenza, the numbers would increase in winter and risk groups would have to protect themselves. “Otherwise, hygiene, ventilation, and keeping your distance help,” said the infectiologist. (05/10/2022)
Federal Constitutional Court approves restaurant closures
The federal government was allowed to close restaurants and other eating places in the third wave of the pandemic in spring 2021 via the so-called Corona emergency brake. The Federal Constitutional Court announced that this measure was also constitutionally justified. The constitutional complaint of a restaurant operator from Berlin was not accepted for decision. (Az. 1 BvR 1295/21)
The judges had already approved central measures of the federal emergency brake in two fundamental decisions in November. At that time it was about contact and exit restrictions and the closure of schools. The new decision makes reference to this.
Formally, it is about the former catalog of measures of paragraph 28b, which was inserted into the Infection Protection Act on April 22, 2021 and remained in force until the end of June 2021. The federal government wanted to ensure that the same measures take effect everywhere in the state as soon as the corona situation in a region worsens. This triggered a wave of lawsuits. (05/10/2022)