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Corona test at the airport in Munich
Photo: Matthias Schrader / AP
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Robert Koch Institute reports 23,648
new infections
5.45 a.m.:
In Germany, the health authorities reported 23,648 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) within 24 hours.
This has reached a peak, as can be seen from the information provided by the RKI.
On Friday a week ago, the previous peak was reached with 23,542 recorded cases.
The number of new infections is, however, only partially comparable with that of the previous weeks, as the RKI has adjusted the recommendations for corona tests as to who should still be tested.
The step was necessary as more and more laboratories were reaching their limits.
But the decision could not only affect the number of new infections but also the proportion of positive tests.
(Read more here.)
The RKI has counted a total of 879,564 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number of deaths related to the virus rose 260 to 13,630 as of Friday.
According to the RKI situation report from Thursday evening, the so-called seven-day R was 0.99 (previous day: 0.95).
This means that 100 infected people theoretically infect 99 more people.
The value represents the occurrence of the infection 8 to 16 days ago.
If it is below 1 for a long time, the infection rate subsides.
Report: WHO advises against remdesivir in corona disease
5.30 a.m.: According to a report, the World Health Organization advises against the use of the once promising drug Remdesivir for Covid-19 diseases.
After careful examination, a panel of experts from WHO came to the conclusion that the drug "has no significant impact on mortality or other important effects on patients, such as the need for artificial ventilation or the time to recovery," wrote the journal British Medical Journal ”in an article published on Friday.
It is also not yet ruled out that the drug could also cause damage.
Then there would be the costs.
Remdesivir was originally developed by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead to fight the Ebola virus.
After the global pandemic broke out, it was considered a beacon of hope in the fight against Covid-19 for a while.
In July, it was the first drug in Europe to receive approval subject to conditions for the specific treatment of certain patients.
Most recently, however, tests had suggested that the drug's benefit is minimal at best.
The findings emerged from a study coordinated by the WHO with thousands of patients in almost 500 clinics in more than 30 countries.
Expert Fauci: Rapid vaccine development is no cause for concern
5:20 a.m.:
The renowned US immunologist Anthony Fauci has rejected concerns that the development of corona vaccines should have been accelerated at the expense of tolerability and effectiveness.
"The speed of the process did not compromise security in any way," Fauci said.
The scientific integrity was not compromised either.
The vaccine trial data were judged by independent experts who owed no one, including "not the government," he said.
There is nothing to worry about in this regard, said Fauci.
"This is really solid," he said.
As soon as the applications for emergency approval for the vaccines were received, the relevant Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would review everything "very carefully."
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Anthony Fauci at the press conference at the White House
Photo: Susan Walsh / AP
The immunologist is a member of the White House Corona Working Group.
Experts fear that some people may be skeptical about the vaccine because of the accelerated development and political debates.
Fauci said effective vaccines are the "cavalry" in the fight to contain the pandemic, but until they arrive, all known precautionary measures must be followed.
In the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than a quarter of a million people have died in connection with an infection since the beginning of the pandemic - nowhere else in the world have so many corona deaths been known.
More than 100,000 new infections have been detected every day since the beginning of November, most recently the average was around 160,000.
Bars and restaurants in Catalonia are allowed to reopen from Monday
4:50 a.m.:
The Catalan regional government has announced an easing of the pandemic-related restrictions in view of an improvement in the corona situation.
From Monday, bars and restaurants are likely to reopen, Vice Regional President Pere Aragonès announced at a press conference.
However, there is a curfew from 9:30 p.m.
In addition, the load is limited to a maximum of 30 percent.
"We managed to change the dynamics of the pandemic without going into a strict lockdown," said Aragonès, referring to the strict curfew that had applied throughout Spain during the first wave of infections in spring.
In addition to bars and restaurants, cinemas, theaters and concert halls are also allowed to reopen from Monday - but only with a maximum occupancy of 50 percent.
The regional government wants to keep the night curfew and travel restrictions for the time being.
Spain is one of the countries in Europe hardest hit by the corona pandemic.
In total, more than 1.5 million infections and 42,000 deaths have been recorded in the country since the pandemic began.
More than 100,000 corona deaths in Mexico
4:05 a.m.:
In Mexico, more than 100,000 people have died of the Covid-19 disease since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell announced the total of 100,104 deaths on Thursday (local time) at a press conference.
Mexico is the fourth country to have passed the 100,000 corona death threshold.
In the past 24 hours, 576 other people died as a result of a corona infection, said López-Gatell.
According to him, the number of infections registered since the beginning of the pandemic rose to more than 1.019 million.
Mexico is the fourth most severely affected country in the world by the corona pandemic.
The USA, Brazil and India are in first place.
California imposes exit restrictions due to coronavirus
03.15 a.m.:
California is introducing a nightly exit
restriction
due to rising corona numbers.
The residents should stay at home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday (local time).
The order should come into effect on Saturday and initially apply for one month.
Most of the districts of the west coast state are affected with rapidly increasing corona numbers.
Almost 40 million people live in California.
This strict requirement now applies to a good 94 percent of the population. Last week, the most populous state in the United States passed the threshold of one million known corona infections.
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