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Corona test tent in Saxony-Anhalt
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
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Large majority of Germans for easing the corona lockdown
6:05 a.m.:
Two and a half months after the start of the tough corona lockdown, according to a large majority of Germans, it is time for easing.
According to a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the dpa news agency, only a third are in favor of maintaining (26 percent) or tightening (9 percent) the current restrictions.
On the other hand, 43 percent believe that the lockdown should be loosened further this Wednesday during the consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Minister of the federal states.
17 percent are even in favor of a complete return to normalcy.
5 percent did not provide any information.
For the first time since the tough lockdown began in mid-December, there is a majority in favor of easing the YouGov polls, which are carried out every two to four weeks.
Initially, almost three quarters (73 percent) were behind the measures taken by the federal and state governments.
The Czech Republic tightens lockdown controls at district borders
5.44 a.m.:
In the Czech Republic, a much tougher corona lockdown will apply from Monday.
People are only allowed to leave their respective district for three weeks in exceptional cases.
Trips to work, to the doctor and to the authorities are permitted if written evidence is provided.
The size of the 77 districts corresponds to the rural districts in Germany.
More than 25,000 police officers and up to 5,000 soldiers are supposed to monitor compliance with the strict measures.
Failure to comply could result in fines equivalent to more than 400 euros.
Walks and sports are even only allowed in their own town or municipality.
Visiting relatives is prohibited.
Only absolutely necessary shops are allowed to open.
The background to this is that the Czech Republic has the highest new corona infection rate of all EU countries.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis warned urgently of a collapse of the health system and a »Bergamo in the Czech Republic«.
The Italian province had become the tragic symbol of the Corona crisis in spring 2020.
Hairdressers can reopen after eleven weeks
4.10 a.m.:
After two and a half months of closure, hairdressers in Germany can now reopen.
Hygiene requirements apply, such as an obligation to wear masks.
The salons have been closed for around eleven weeks since mid-December due to the corona pandemic.
The federal and state governments justified the imminent opening with the »importance of hairdressers for personal hygiene« and the long closing time.
According to the Corona resolutions by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states on February 10, "A significant part of the population, especially the elderly," depends on the service.
Already vaccinated more than 20 million people in the UK
3.50 a.m.:
In Great Britain, more than 20 million of the 66 million inhabitants have now received at least one vaccine dose to protect against Covid-19.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this was "a huge national achievement."
He thanked the health workers involved in the vaccination campaign for their "tireless work".
Meanwhile, experts are concerned about the discovery of the Brazilian corona mutant in the United Kingdom.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said of the progress of the vaccination campaign: "We have a long way to go, but we are making great strides." He wanted to "thank every single person" who received the injection.
Vaccination is the path that will lead "us all" out of the pandemic.
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Boris Johnson
Photo: Anthony Devlin / dpa
According to the government, 20,089,551 people in the UK had received at least one dose of a corona vaccine as of Sunday.
By mid-February, the country had already achieved its intermediate goal of vaccinating 15 million people in the country who are most susceptible to serious Covid-19 diseases.
All adults in the country should receive a vaccination offer by the end of July.
Globally, the vaccination rate is only higher in Israel and the United Arab Emirates than in Great Britain.
So far, around 5.01 million of the 83 million inhabitants in Germany have received at least one corona injection.
The positive news about vaccination progress in Great Britain was clouded on Sunday by the detection of the corona variant first discovered in Brazil, which is considered more dangerous than the wild virus.
As the health authorities announced on Sunday, the mutant has been detected in a total of six people in the United Kingdom.
The place of residence of one of the infected was unclear because important contact information was missing, it said.
The mutant, first discovered in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus, is considered particularly contagious.
It is also unclear whether existing corona vaccines will work against them.
With more than 122,000 corona deaths, Great Britain is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in the world.
Since the end of January, the daily new infections and deaths have decreased significantly.
On Sunday, authorities reported 6,035 new infections and 144 deaths from the coronavirus.
The current lockdown is to be lifted gradually from March to the end of June.
South Africa relaxes corona measures out of concern for the economy
3.15 a.m.:
South Africa is loosening its lockdown measures in view of the fewer newly reported corona cases.
This was announced by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.
Among other things, the curfew will be shortened and the restrictions on meetings and the sale of alcohol will be relaxed, said Ramaphosa in a televised address to citizens.
The easing is expected to increase consumer spending and a steady recovery in the labor market, Ramaphosa said.
"All of our efforts must be aimed at economic growth." 33 of the 53 border crossings into the country remain closed, and only five airports are open for international travel.
With more than 1.5 million registered infections and almost 50,000 deaths, South Africa is the most numerically affected country on the African continent by the corona pandemic.
The economy has also been badly hit: the unemployment rate was 32.5 percent at the end of last year.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni had recently announced that South Africa would have to incur new debts of over 500 billion rand (more than 27 billion euros) every year due to a record tax failure.
Report: Federal Returning Officer brings preferred vaccination of election workers into play
2.20 a.m.:
Federal
Returning Officer
Georg Thiel brings a preferred vaccination of volunteer election workers for the federal election into play.
The newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft reported that he had turned to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, to whose division his authority belongs.
The ministry has not yet commented on the question.
"Without the involvement of the volunteer election workers, an election would not be feasible," Thiel told the newspapers.
"Since a higher percentage of postal votes can be expected due to the pandemic, more election workers will probably be needed."
Scholz urges a change of strategy in corona policy
0.55 a.m.:
In view of future rapid test options, Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) calls for a change in strategy in German corona policy.
"I insist that we formulate a concrete opening perspective on Wednesday," said the SPD's candidate for chancellor in the political talk of the newspaper "Bild".
The possibilities of rapid tests would have to be used "actively for an opening strategy".
Testing is "part of the way out of the lockdown." With the test options, in his opinion, the incidence values of 35 and 50 can no longer be seen as the sole benchmark for easing in the future.
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cop / mrc / dpa / AFP / Reuters / sid / AP