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The EU Commission is funding the transfer of patients to other countries with 220 million euros, announced Ursula von der Leyen
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Olivier Hoslet / dpa
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EU Commission finances the transport of Covid patients to other countries
12:43 a.m.:
In view of
dwindling
hospital
capacities
due to the corona pandemic, the EU Commission is funding the transfer of patients to other countries with 220 million euros.
This was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday evening after a video conference of the European heads of state and government on how to proceed against the pandemic.
According to this, countries can take advantage of this help if they run out of intensive care beds.
more on the subject
Plan against the virus: Corona test for the EU by Markus Becker, Brussels
Von der Leyen asked the member states to also report data on the utilization of their intensive care units to the EU disease control authority ECDC.
This makes it possible to quickly match necessary needs and to promote cross-border care for patients.
As further measures, von der Leyen named a network of corona experts from national governments and the EU as well as the rapid approval of corona rapid tests.
She also called on the member states to take advantage of the EU offer of networking national Corona warning apps and assured a fair distribution of vaccines to all EU states when they are ready for use.
Von der Leyen also appealed to politicians and citizens not to let up in the fight against the pandemic.
"I understand how tired and worried everyone is," she said.
"But now is the time for patience, determination and discipline for all of us."
Number of corona deaths in France rose to more than 36,000
00:30 a.m.:
According to official information, the number of corona deaths in France has increased to more than 36,000.
250 more people had died in the past 24 hours as a result of the virus disease Covid-19, the health authorities announced on Thursday in Paris.
On Friday night, a nationwide lockdown came into effect again in France.
more on the subject
Icon: VideoIcon: Video intensive care unit in France: "We are not ready to go through this again" A video by Martin Jäschke
The number of corona patients who have to be treated in the intensive care unit increased according to the information to 3147 - an increase of 395 compared to the previous day.
In total, more than 21,600 people infected with the coronavirus are currently being treated in French hospitals.
France is one of the countries in Europe most affected by the corona pandemic.
Because the number of infections has risen sharply for weeks, the government in Paris imposed another nationwide lockdown.
(More on this under the entry from 00:05)
Merkel warns of renewed border closings in Europe
00:10:
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) spoke out clearly against the renewed closure of borders within the European Union at an EU video summit.
Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in the evening after three hours of deliberations with the heads of state and government that Merkel had campaigned for a coordinated fight against the corona pandemic in Europe: "Especially for Germany as a country in the center of Europe, it is important that the borders remain open that there is a functioning economic cycle and that we can fight the pandemic together. "
During the first Corona wave in spring, numerous EU countries closed their borders without any prior agreement.
Even now there are unilateral entry restrictions again.
A week ago, the Danish government decreed that people from Germany are no longer allowed to enter the country without a valid reason.
This has been true for a long time for most of the other countries in Europe.
Hungary has almost completely closed its borders to foreigners again.
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also warned against border closings, such as during the first wave of the pandemic in spring.
"The borders in Europe must remain open," said Kurz.
All countries would have "a similar situation - some are a few weeks ahead, some are a few weeks back".
New exit restrictions in France cost billions
00.05 a.m.:
The new corona-related exit restrictions in France are causing extra costs worth billions.
As Economic and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in Paris in the evening, 200,000 shops will have to be closed in the coming weeks.
"This lockdown is a hard blow for all companies that will remain closed," said the head of department.
He put the monthly support payments now due at around 15 billion euros.
The new measures apply from Friday until December 1st.
This is intended to contain the spread of the corona virus.
Head of state Emmanuel Macron announced the "new stage" in the fight against the pandemic on Wednesday.
Citizens are no longer allowed to move freely.
People can take to the streets if they work, do important shopping, see a doctor or want to get some fresh air - but then they have to fill out a certificate.
Sport is allowed for one hour per day within a radius of one kilometer from the place of residence.
In the Paris area there was a high volume of traffic in the evening, as media reported.
Cars accumulated over a length of around 700 kilometers - significantly more than usual.
Numerous residents had already left the capital during the exit restrictions in the spring.
Because of the
corona
pandemic: Rio cancels the street carnival
00.01 a.m.:
After the postponement of the world-famous carnival in the Sambodrome, the Brazilian metropolis Rio de Janeiro canceled the street carnival due to the corona pandemic.
This was reported by the news portal "G1".
According to this, representatives of carnival groups, the municipal tourism agency Riotur and specialists in health and public safety have determined the cancellation after an online meeting.
According to the report, all attendees agreed that an event the size of Rio's street carnival made neither sense nor safe in the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, according to "G1", the Rio Carnival drew more than three million people onto the streets in just four days, citing Riotur.
At the end of September, Rio had already postponed the parades in the Sambodrome.
They should take place in February.
After the US and India, Brazil has the highest number of coronavirus infections - over 5.4 million.
More than 158,000 people have died in connection with Covid-19 in the largest country in Latin America.
According to data from the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the city of Rio officially registered more than 118,000 infected people by Thursday, and more than 12,000 patients have died so far.
The New Year's Eve party at Copacabana had already been canceled due to Corona.
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