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Debate with mask: FDP leader Christian Lindner in the Bundestag
Photo: HAYOUNG JEON / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
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FDP calls for a special Bundestag session before the Corona summit on Tuesday
7.30 a.m.:
Even before the corona switch from the federal and state governments on Tuesday, the FDP is calling for a special session of the Bundestag.
"The Chancellor should inform parliament and the public immediately before the talks with the Prime Minister," said FDP leader Christian Lindner of "Bild am Sonntag".
“The German Bundestag has to meet for a special session immediately.
Parliamentary advice on corona measures must be a concern of all parliamentary groups;
no matter if government or opposition. "
Lindner considers night curfews in particular to be disproportionate: "Under no circumstances should they be passed without referring to the Bundestag," he said.
In view of the tense situation, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the heads of government of the federal states have brought their deliberations, originally planned for January 25, forward to next Tuesday by just under a week.
Discussions are also about further narrowing the partially existing 15-kilometer starting radius, an obligation to wear better protective FFP2 masks and ways to encourage companies to offer more home office options.
Biden is planning decrees against
Corona
on the first day of office
6.45 a.m.:
The elected US President Joe Biden has
paved the way
for the fight against the
corona virus
.
On his first day in office, Biden wants to sign a dozen decrees to fight the corona crisis, climate change and discrimination, as his designated chief of staff Ron Klain announced on Saturday.
With the "four crises" corona pandemic, global warming, troubled US economy and inequality of treatment of people, there is an "urgent need for action," wrote Klain in a memo to high-ranking White House employees.
Therefore, Biden will initiate measures against this with around a dozen decrees on his first day in office.
With 400,000 fatalities, the USA is the country in the world most severely affected by the corona pandemic.
Around ten million jobs have been lost in the country since the pandemic began.
Biologist Eric Lander will be Biden's chief scientific advisor.
He should be given cabinet rank - a clear signal for a science-based approach to anti-corona measures.
City and municipality federation warns of too strict corona lockdown
5.00 a.m.:
The German Association of Towns and Municipalities has warned of excessive corona measures.
An extension of the lockdown was necessary in view of the infection situation, said chief executive Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
The “mega-lockdown” that is often called for is “not a solution and could endanger the indispensable acceptance of the people for the numerous measures”.
Landsberg refused, among other things, a general closure of schools and daycare centers.
Since the lockdown has been going on for weeks, "at least emergency care" should be ensured.
In addition, the municipal umbrella association called for better protection concepts for old people's and nursing homes.
Landsberg demanded that only visitors with a negative rapid test should have access rights.
"For this, these facilities need additional volunteers who carry out the test procedures on site for visitors, but also for the residents and the nursing staff."
In addition, home visitors should generally be obliged to wear an FFP2 mask, Landsberg told the Funke media.
People on low incomes should be provided with these masks free of charge.
Landsberg called for everything to be done to speed up vaccinations against the coronavirus.
"The focus here should be on GPs vaccinating their patients as soon as possible," he said.
"This could significantly increase the numbers." In addition, a campaign by the federal, state and local governments should increase the willingness of the population to vaccinate.
This applies in particular to nursing staff in old people's homes and hospitals.
Bayer Group wants to help with the production of corona vaccines
3.30 a.m.:
Against the background of the shortage of corona vaccines in Germany and other countries, the pharmaceutical company Bayer has promised support.
"We are ready to pull out all the stops for this," Bayer boss Werner Baumann told Welt am Sonntag.
"We are intensively examining whether we can help with production in addition to the development and provision of the vaccine that has already been agreed," he added.
The Bayer Group is not primarily concerned with financial considerations, assured the CEO.
Rather, his company wants to help make the vaccine available as soon as possible.
"With our production network in Germany and the USA and the appropriate lead time, we would be able to produce vaccines in larger quantities," said Baumann.
At the beginning of January, the pharmaceutical company had already announced a joint sales and development alliance with the Tübingen vaccine manufacturer Curevac.
However, the corona vaccine from Curevac is not yet ready for the market.
Like its German competitor Biontech, Curevac works with an active ingredient based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is also known as messenger RNA.
In contrast to the Biontech vaccine, which has to be stored at minus 70 degrees for a longer period, the Curevac vaccine remains stable for at least three months even at refrigerator temperatures.
The number of corona infections in China is falling again after a 10-month high
2.20 a.m.:
In China, the number of new corona infections fell for the second day in a row.
109 new Covid 19 cases became known within 24 hours, as the health authority announced in Beijing on Sunday.
The day before it was 130 after the highest value since March 1, 2020 was reported on Friday at 138.
According to official information, the total number of confirmed corona cases is now 88,227.
The number of deaths remained unchanged at 4,635.
Authorities quarantined more than 28 million people at home in January to help contain the spread of the disease.
The government fears that the corona epidemic will resurrect during the traditional New Year celebrations.
If the controls and the precautionary measures are properly implemented, a massive resurgence is unlikely, the CDC said recently.
The New Year holidays start on February 11th and are usually a prime travel time in China.
296 million rail travelers alone are expected.
Icon: The mirror
mrc / dpa / AFP / Reuters
