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Germany: Minister committed suicide because of Corona crisis | Israel today

2020-03-29T20:15:37.254Z


Europe


Fearing the consequences of the plague on Germany's economy, Minister of Finance Thomas Sheffer has put an end to his life • Across Europe more and more are dead • And also: The discovery of medical equipment deficiencies from China

Germany is in shock after the Finance Minister's suicide in the German province of Hesse. The minister, 54-year-old Thomas Scheffer, put an end to his life because of his fear of the negative implications of the Corona epidemic on Germany's economy.

Photo: Reuters + Gil Kramer // Editing: Eden Barel

The body of Minister Shaffer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative ruling party, was found on the railroad tracks Saturday after jumping in front of a high-speed train. Shaffer left a farewell letter, the contents of which were posted and removed from the Internet by the police. In a letter, the Minister expressed his despair at the economic and social developments in Germany, stating that the current situation "finished it".

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The news of Schaffer's suicide was deeply shocked in Germany, especially in view of the common perception that the country is better able to cope with the Corona crisis compared to other large, rich European countries.

The number of dead from Corona in Germany is relatively low in the EU and currently stands at 500 dead, while the number of corona virus infections is the fifth highest in the world and stands at more than 61,000 people, about 2,000 of whom are in serious condition. However, health authorities in Germany are warning that the pandemic is likely to register in the coming weeks.

Count the dead

At the same time, in Italy, where the number of corona victims is the highest in the world, Deputy Health Minister Pierre Paolo Silri declared that they expect peak data within a week to ten days. In Italy, there was a slight drop in the number of people who died last year - 756 in the last day, with 10,779 civilian deaths from the beginning of the epidemic and more than 97,000 people infected.

The Italian government is preparing to extend the general closure of the country, which should be completed next week, until April 18, after Easter. In addition, in the Italian government began to divide the population strata in need of food coupons.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte continues to exert heavy pressure on the EU Council of Leaders to agree to the adoption of an economic emergency plan, which will allow the issuance of pan-European bonds to help meet the financial needs of the countries most affected by the plague so far - headed by Italy, Spain and France.

Photo: Reuters

Germany, Austria and the Netherlands - which are also the major casualties of the Corona - oppose such a move, fearing that the creation of a pan-European "debt fund" would compel their economies to cover the debts of countries whose economic condition is undermining.

From Spain, various figures were released yesterday about the number of people dying from the Corona in the past day, ranging from 835 - the highest death toll so far - to 724. There are now question marks about the reliability of the official daily data published in European countries on the infection in Corona and the dead from the virus in their fields. After Italy and Spain reported that the true numbers are higher than those published, it is clear that even in France the official figures do not include the 7,000 nursing homes across the country.

In the UK, 1,235 deaths have been recorded from Corona since the epidemic began. In the Netherlands, the death toll from the Corona continued to rise sharply and now stands at 771 dead. In Belgium, 78 people were added to the Corona victims and 431 dead were reported in the state. Portugal has 119 deaths from the beginning of the epidemic and in Austria 86.

Return equipment to China

In the meantime, reports across Europe are growing that health equipment purchased in China in recent days for the purpose of combating the spread of the corona does not meet the required criteria. The Netherlands has announced that it will return to China a shipment of 1.3 million face masks, as it does not provide complete protection. The Spanish government announced that it is pulling 600,000 test kits to Corona urgently imported from China, after rising to a mere 30 percent accuracy.

The opposition in Poland calls on the country's population to boycott the first round of state elections if the conservative Polish government does not back down from its decision to vote on May 10, despite the Corona epidemic. The government in Warsaw passed an amendment to the Electoral Law that allows seniors as well as people in isolation to vote by sending postal ballot envelopes.

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2020-03-29

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