D.he Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 67,125 new positive tests within 24 hours. That is 3201 cases more than on Saturday a week ago, when 63,924 new infections were reported. The seven-day incidence continues to rise to 444.3 from 438.2 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.
The number of people who died in Germany in connection with the corona virus has now risen above the threshold of 100,000 with 303 further deaths. This increases the number of reported corona deaths to 100,779. In total, more than 5.71 million corona tests have so far been positive in Germany.
On November 8, the value in Germany exceeded the threshold of 200 for the first time and thus the previous high since the start of the pandemic in December 2020 (197.6). Since then, new highs have been recorded every day.
On November 18, the federal and state governments set the so-called hospitalization incidence as the decisive benchmark for tightening the corona measures. This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are in hospital within seven days because of a corona infection.
From a value of three, the 2G rule applies across the board for events in a federal state – that is, only those vaccinated against the coronavirus and those recovered from Covid-19 are allowed. According to the RKI, the nationwide hospitalization incidence on Friday was 5.97.
According to the RKI, the total number of registered cases of infection in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 5,717,295. The institute put the number of people recovered from illness caused by the coronavirus in Germany at around 4,803,100.
All developments in the live ticker:
05:45 am – Foreign trade president warns of travel restrictions
The German export industry warns of travel restrictions for vaccinated people in view of canceled flights due to the new Corona variant Omikron. “We are looking at the worsening corona situation with concern. A reintroduction of travel restrictions would be a catastrophe for wholesale and foreign trade, ”says the President of the Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade, Services (BGA), Dirk Jandura, according to a preliminary report for the German editorial network. Travel to customers and suppliers is essential.
In times when there are still massive delivery bottlenecks, on-site presence is crucial. “We fully support the recommendation of the European Commission not to introduce any new travel restrictions for vaccinated, convalescent and recently tested people,” said the BGA President.
04:30 am – Brazil wants to restrict air traffic from southern Africa
Because of the Corona variant Omikron, which first appeared in southern Africa, the Brazilian government wants to restrict entry by air from the region. “Brazil will close the air borders with six African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe – because of a new variant of the coronavirus”, wrote Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira after a decision by “Casa Civil”, comparable to the Chancellery, and various ministries on Twitter on Friday evening (local time).
The decision should apply from Monday. The government of President Jair Bolsonaro initially rejected a vaccination certificate for entry to Brazil, as represented by Anvisa.
4:15 a.m. – Australia quarantines travelers from southern Africa
Because of the new corona virus, Australia is imposing a 14-day quarantine on citizens and their relatives if they have previously been in one of nine specified countries in southern Africa. As the Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt announced, all travelers who do not have Australian citizenship and have stayed in African countries in the past 14 days in which the Omicron variant was discovered and spread are not allowed to enter Australia.
04:01 a.m. – Swiss people vote on Covid certificate
The Swiss will vote today (Sunday) on the amended Covid-19 law, which forms the basis for a 3G certificate. The government in Bern is campaigning for a yes to the law in order to protect the health of the population and to reduce the economic damage caused by the corona pandemic. The certificate for vaccinated, convalescent and tested persons is a prerequisite for access to public buildings, restaurants and larger events, among other things.
There was resistance to the change in the law passed by parliament in March, and several groups forced a referendum by collecting signatures. The change in the law will lead to a division in Switzerland, massive surveillance and could even pave the way to a “Corona dictatorship”, argue the opponents. If you say no to the change in the law, from March 2022 Switzerland would no longer be able to issue Covid certificates for those who have been vaccinated, genesis or tested.
4:00 a.m. – Over 200 corona cases with the Berlin police
More and more employees of the Berlin police are infected with the corona virus. “There is – analogous to the nationwide increase in the incidence – an increase noticeable,” said the authority at the request of the German Press Agency. This is currently not affecting the operational readiness and performance of the Berlin police, it said.
New Corona variant from South Africa is causing worries around the world
According to the Interior Ministry, the new variant has not yet been proven in Germany. However, it can be assumed that the prevalence is already significantly greater than the known cases.
According to the information, 216 employees of the police were infected (as of November 23). That is 0.8 percent of the total number of employees. 433 employees were in quarantine.
2:35 a.m. – Dozens of cases on flights out of South Africa
The Dutch health authorities say that dozens of people who arrived in Amsterdam on Friday evening on two flights from South Africa are likely infected with the coronavirus. Now all passengers will be tested to find out whether they may have been infected with the recently discovered Omikron variant. “We will examine the positive test results as quickly as possible to see whether it is the new variant,” said the health authorities.
Around 600 passengers arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on two KLM flights. The Dutch government had already banned all air travel from southern Africa on Friday morning. Travelers who were already on their way were tested on arrival and then placed in quarantine.
02:02 am – Merz does not rule out consent to mandatory vaccinations
The candidate for the CDU chairmanship, Friedrich Merz, has not ruled out a general compulsory vaccination in view of the dramatic corona situation. “If today’s measures are not sufficient, then I cannot rule out my consent to a general vaccination requirement,” he told the “Rheinische Post” (Saturday). “The fact that someone does not want to be vaccinated is fundamentally part of our liberal order. But in the current situation this attitude is becoming more and more a burden on the freedom of those who get vaccinated. “
Therefore, he was initially in favor of a consistent application of the 2G rules (access for vaccinated and convalescent people) wherever possible. He hoped that a general lockdown could be avoided. “What would that mean? Should companies, hotels, restaurants, schools, universities and sports fields close again for months? Nobody can seriously want that, ”he said. Families in particular, and especially children and young people, would have suffered enough from the lockdowns. “And even for many small and medium-sized companies, a further closure is simply not reasonable.”
1:45 a.m. – Montgomery: Christmas markets are closing nationwide
The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, calls for a strict reduction in contacts in order to lower the infection curve again. “We should therefore close the Christmas markets nationwide. There is no point in banning the Christmas markets in one region if people then drive to another where they are still open, ”said Montgomery to the newspapers of the Funke media group, according to a preliminary report.
Countries and municipalities should also ban larger celebrations, fireworks and private gluttony across the board on New Year’s Eve. “This not only prevents infections, but also relieves the emergency clinics,” says the head of the World Medical Association. If the incidences cannot be brought under control, the federal states should be able to close operations across the board again or impose curfews.
1:00 a.m. – Dozens of coronavirus cases on flights from South Africa
The Dutch health authorities say that dozens of people who arrived in Amsterdam on Friday evening on two flights from South Africa are likely infected with the coronavirus. Now all passengers will be tested to find out whether they may have already been infected with the recently discovered Omikon variant. “We will examine the positive test results as quickly as possible to see whether it is the new variant,” said the health authorities.
Around 600 passengers arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on two KLM flights. The Dutch government had already banned all air travel from southern Africa on Friday morning. Travelers who were already on their way were tested on arrival and then placed in quarantine.
12:25 a.m. – Brazil imposes entry restrictions
Because of the new Omikron coronavirus variant, Brazil will also ban entry from six African countries. As the government announced in a statement, travelers from South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are no longer allowed to enter Brazil.
12:10 a.m. – Kretschmer complains about the lack of rapid tests
Due to the lack of rapid tests, Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has questioned the effectiveness of the so-called 3G rule. “It is a serious misjudgment that daily testing for the unvaccinated is so easy for the 3G rule at work and in local public transport,” said Kretschmer to the editorial network Germany (RND).
In Saxony, for this reason, large parts of public life were shut down again at an early stage and relied on the 2G rule. “We are already reaching the limits with the capacities of the rapid tests and the prices are rising rapidly,” said the Saxon Prime Minister.