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Policeman stops motorists for a control at the Czech border
Photo: SlavomÌr Kubeö / dpa
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RKI registered 6114 cases of infection
5.42 a.m.:
In Germany, more than 6100 new infections with the
corona virus were recorded
within one day.
As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Sunday morning, citing information from the health authorities, a further
6114
cases of
infection were
registered.
The total number of confirmed infections with the coronavirus in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 2,334,561.
According to the RKI,
218 deaths
in connection with coronavirus infections were counted
within 24 hours
.
The
total number of corona deaths recorded
in Germany increased to
64,960
.
The
RKI put the
number of people recovered from a corona infection
at around
2.119 million
.
At the weekend, the numbers are usually lower because not all health authorities report their numbers to the RKI and fewer tests are carried out and evaluated.
The so-called
seven-day incidence
continued to decline and was
57.4
.
The day before it was 60.1.
The seven-day incidence is the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants during this period.
The goal of the federal government is to push the value below 35.
All current data from the RKI can be found here: Covid-19 dashboard
Study: border closings in early 2020 against Corona came too late
5 a.m.:
According to a study, the border closings in Europe about a year ago came too late to stop the corona virus.
Researchers working with mathematician and biostatistician Tanja Stadler from ETH Zurich reported in the journal »PNAS« that there were already about as many local infections with the virus in Europe as were brought in by travelers from abroad.
The EU only closed the borders on March 17th.
The researchers had traced the spread of the pathogen using sequenced virus genomes.
"If you closed the borders with the aim of not letting the virus in: it was too late for that," Stadler told the German press agency.
In the event of an infection, as was already the case on March 8, a border closure would only make sense in connection with a drastic restriction of contacts in the country.
Then the reduction in contacts from abroad will help to slow down the spread.
Border controls in place - criticism does not stop
04.15 a.m.:
The stricter German entry
rules
at the borders with the Czech Republic and the Austrian state of Tyrol came into force on Sunday night - and are causing displeasure in the neighboring states and the EU.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer confirmed that strict controls were being carried out at the corresponding crossings in Bavaria and Saxony.
"Those who do not belong to one of the few exceptions cannot enter," said the CSU politician of the "Bild am Sonntag".
The aim of the federal government is to curb the introduction of probably more contagious coronavirus mutations across the border.
Seehofer said delays are to be expected.
“The controls can lead to waiting times here and there.
The federal police will not simply wave through the traffic. «Those entering would have to present a negative corona test.
That also applies to all truck drivers, it said.
EU health commissioner wants fast-track trial for mutation vaccine
4 a.m.:
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has announced a fast-track procedure for adapting already approved corona vaccines to virus mutations.
"We have now decided that a vaccine that has been improved by the manufacturer on the basis of the previous vaccine to combat new mutations no longer has to go through the entire approval process," said Kyriakides of the "Augsburger Allgemeine".
"So it will be faster to have suitable vaccines available without compromising on safety."
According to the commissioner, at least 700 million doses should be available for double vaccination by the end of September.
That is more than enough for 70 percent of the EU population.
By the end of June, 300 million doses of the three previously approved vaccines would be available to more than a third of EU citizens.
"That number could even increase with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine," Kyriakides said.
The European vaccination strategy was a success.
This had come under fire in the past few weeks because countries like the USA, Great Britain and Israel are making much faster progress in immunizing their populations.
The EU now wants to accelerate the approval of drugs against corona diseases.
"In parallel to vaccine management, we are working with manufacturers to develop suitable drugs," said Kyriakides.
But you could not say exactly when enough would be available.
Study: 700,000 British self-employed give up in lockdown
03.45 a.m.:
Because of the current lockdown, according to a study in Great Britain around 700,000 self-employed have given up.
That corresponds to about every seventh and is an increase of 50 percent compared to the first lockdown in spring, said the think tank Resolution Foundation on Sunday.
The corona pandemic had a severe impact on living standards: more than two out of five self-employed people had lost more than 25 percent of their income, and many of the government's aid measures were not achieved.
"The government should expand the eligibility criteria for support to help those who have previously been excluded," said the think tank's financial expert, Hannah Slaughter.
For counter-financing, the government could, among other things, demand back excessive grants for workers in the pandemic.
Resolution Foundation works primarily to improve the living conditions of people with low and middle incomes.
For weeks there has been a lockdown in Great Britain with far-reaching exit and contact restrictions.
New Zealand reports the first new corona cases since January
03:18 a.m.:
New Zealand reported the first new corona infections since January with three locally transmitted cases on Sunday.
According to Chris Hipkins, the Minister for Corona Measures, those affected are a couple and their daughter in the megacity of Auckland.
Tests were currently running to find out whether the infections were triggered by one of the new and particularly contagious variants of corona.
“Our system responded.
We're collecting all the data as soon as possible, ”Hipkins said at a hastily called press conference in the capital Wellington.
"And the system that worked so well for us in the past is now getting ready again."
These are the first cases since January 24, when a person who had come from Europe developed symptoms after being released from the mandatory two-week quarantine and tested positive.
Previously, New Zealand had not recorded any locally transmitted cases for two months.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who wanted to attend a gay pride event in Auckland on Sunday afternoon, immediately returned to Wellington after hearing of the three locally transmitted cases.
Auckland on the North Island is the largest city in the Pacific state with a population of around 1.47 million with a population of five million.
With fewer than 2000 infections and 26 deaths in 2020, this is considered a prime example of combating the corona pandemic.
Corona vaccinations will start there on February 20 after the country was able to secure vaccination doses from Pfizer / BioNTech earlier than expected.
More than 25,000 suspected cases of fraud in Corona emergency aid
02.06 a.m.:
According to a media report, there are more suspected cases of fraud in the Corona emergency aid nationwide than previously assumed.
The 16 state criminal police offices and the Financial Intelligence Unit located at customs currently have around 25,400 specific suspected cases, reported the "Welt am Sonntag".
According to the current state of investigation, fraudsters would have sneaked help in the "significant three-digit million range" on the basis of false information.
According to the report, more than a quarter of the suspected cases are pending in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin.
In Düsseldorf there are 4619 incidents, in the federal capital 2600. In the other federal states, the number of suspected cases is lower.
Thuringia has the lowest number with 70.
The numbers could continue to rise.
According to the newspaper, the economic crime department of the LKA Berlin has more than 10,000 not yet processed advertisements on subsidy fraud in the Corona emergency aid.
US health agency reports over 50 million corona vaccinations
1:35 a.m.:
Corona vaccinations in the USA have exceeded the 50 million mark.
The US health authority CDC announced on Saturday.
The information relates to both the
Moderna
and
Pfizer / Biontech vaccines
.
Almost 70 million cans have been shipped across the country.
According to the CDC, they have
around 37 million people receive at least one dose,
over 13 million already the second.
Around 5.7 million vaccinations were given in care facilities.
The US is the country hardest hit by the pandemic.
The number of confirmed corona infections recently increased by almost 100,000 to 27.56 million.
This comes from a Reuters survey based on official data.
The number of deaths related to the virus increased by at least 5,444 to 481,258.
Sanofi with another vaccine setback - »Will not finish in 2021«
01.07 a.m.:
When looking for a corona vaccine, the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has to take another setback.
The vaccine developed with the US partner Translate Bio will not be available this year, said the head of the drug manufacturer, Paul Hudson, of the newspaper "Le Journal du Dimanche".
So far, Sanofi had assumed that approval would already be possible in the second half of 2021.
The candidate is based on the novel mRNA technology that Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are also using for their already approved vaccines.
Clinical trials should begin this quarter.
"This vaccine won't be ready this year, but it could be useful at a later date - all the more so as the battle against mutations continues," Hudson said.
Icon: The mirror
oka / AFP / dpa / Reuters
