Enlarge image
Corona vaccination in Lower Saxony
Photo: Photo booth / Gelhot / IMAGO
This article will be updated continuously.
Don't miss a thing: subscribe to our coronavirus newsletter for the latest developments and the most important background information.
The Australian government rejects criticism in the Djokovic case
6.18 a.m.:
Australian authorities have rejected allegations by Novak Djokovic's family that they have been holding the tennis star like a prisoner since his arrival in Melbourne.
"Mr. Djokovic is not being held in Australia, he can go at any time, and the border guards would be happy to help," said Interior Secretary Karen Andrews on ABC News on Friday.
At the same time, she confirmed two other problem cases in connection with the Australian Open, which are now being examined by the border guards.
You can read the detailed message here: "Mr Djokovic can go at any time, and the border guards would be happy to help."
Andrews defended the authorities' actions, telling the TV channel Seven Network that Djokovic had failed to provide the correct information for his entry into Australia: “They are required of everyone who enters the country. If this information cannot be provided, then entry requirements for Australia are not met. "
Actually, the rule in Australia is that only travelers with a vaccination against the coronavirus are allowed into the country.
According to tournament boss Craig Tiley, 26 professionals or supervisors applied for a special permit at the Australian Open.
In a "handful" of cases that worked.
Defending champion Djokovic is the only one known by name and has been criticized for days - especially since the 34-year-old has not yet disclosed the reason for the controversial approval.
Omikron wave: Federal and state governments discuss the next steps
5.00 a.m.:
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states will meet again this Friday for a video conference to discuss how to proceed in the Corona crisis.
Because of the feared steep increase in the number of infections due to the Omikron variant, the federal and state governments had already decided to tighten contact restrictions and other measures a little more than two weeks ago.
The focus now, among other things, is on a new regulation of the quarantine requirements.
Nationwide seven-day incidence jumps to 303.4
3.53 a.m.:
The incidence of new corona infections in Germany has risen sharply again.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the seven-day incidence on Friday morning as 303.4.
The day before it was 285.9, a week ago it was 214.9.
The value quantifies the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of seven days.
The incidence is again as high as it was last before Christmas.
As the RKI now announced, citing data from the health authorities, 56,335 new infections were recorded within 24 hours.
It was the third day in a row with more than 50,000 new infections.
A week ago it was 41,270.
In addition, 264 new coronavirus-related deaths were counted on Wednesday.
According to the latest information from the RKI, the health authorities have recorded a total of 7,417,995 cases of infection since the start of the pandemic.
The total number of registered corona deaths in Germany rose to 113,632.
The institute put the number of people recovered from illness caused by the coronavirus in Germany at around 6,664,800.
"Bergdoktor" Hans Sigl for a clear edge against corona deniers
1.39 a.m.:
The "Bergdoktor" actor Hans Sigl needs to show a clear edge against corona deniers and so-called lateral thinkers by not avoiding any discussion on the Internet. "That is a personal concern of mine - and also the meaning and purpose of these channels," the 52-year-old told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung". "I didn't start this to post my sausage sandwiches."
He often shared information and scientific results, which sometimes led to hate mail and threats.
"But then you have to counter it again," said Sigl.
He also accepts that he will lose friends to those who oppose the vaccination and that he will stop contact with them.
For example, he gets to hear: "The Bergdoktor would not have thought that".
The actor in the series said: "If you can't tell fiction and reality apart, you can't help anyway."
Corona vaccination slightly delays periods in women, according to a US study
1.34 a.m.:
According to a US study, the corona vaccination can slightly delay the period in women. According to the study published on Thursday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, the bleeding began about a day later in vaccinated women than in unvaccinated women. The duration of the menstrual period was therefore not influenced. According to the researchers, the impact of vaccination on your period is small and likely to be temporary.
The scientists evaluated anonymized data from an app used to monitor fertility in women between the ages of 18 and 45 who are not using hormonal contraception.
About 2,400 women in the record were vaccinated, most with Biontech / Pfizer (55 percent) followed by Moderna (35 percent) and Johnson & Johnson (seven percent).
The data from 1500 unvaccinated women were used as a comparison group.
The study's lead author, Alison Edelman of Oregon Health & Science University, told AFP that the study's results were "very reassuring" and confirmed the women who had noticed changes in their periods after vaccination.
The study could also help to refute any misinformation on the topic on the Internet.
Minister of Labor Heil: "Offer home office wherever possible"
1.22 a.m.:
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) expects the corona consultations from the federal and state governments on this Friday to give advice on how to work more in the home office in Germany.
"I assume that the Federal Government and the Prime Ministers will once again make it very, very clear which rules already apply and must be complied with," Heil told the German Press Agency in Berlin.
"This also includes the requirements for home office."
Heil recalled that the Infection Protection Act regulates that home offices must be offered and used wherever possible.
Since then, home office has been used more intensively again.
"But there is still room for improvement," said Heil.
"That is why there is now a clear appeal to companies to offer home offices wherever possible and a clear request to employees to work from home whenever possible." to stand up to society against the spread of the virus.
Medical Association warns of shortages in PCR tests
0.19 a.m.:
Germany's largest medical association, the Marburger Bund, has warned of bottlenecks in PCR tests. "The Omikron variant will also lead to more infections among workers in the laboratories," said chairwoman Susanne Johna of the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND). It is therefore to be expected that the PCR test capacities in Germany will soon only be available to a "limited extent". This can already be seen in other countries.
"We therefore need a plan B to shorten the quarantine and isolation rules," demanded Johna and suggested: "Two antigen tests in a row would be possible, with which one can test oneself." Tests should be used. "But if we only have the result after four days, a PCR test is no longer useful in everyday clinical practice."
The Federal Ministry of Health also considers bottlenecks to be possible.
"If the number of cases is very high, it may be necessary to make a diagnosis based solely on symptoms or antigen rapid testing, ie to forego PCR diagnostics for certain groups of people," the ministry told ZDFheute.de.
But Germany will not "land in chaos," it said from the ministry.
Accordingly, there is currently a capacity for 2.4 million PCR tests per week.
Lauterbach: more contact restrictions for restaurants are necessary
0.11 a.m.:
In view of the Omikron variant of the corona virus, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) considers more contact restrictions in the catering trade to be necessary.
In the program “RTL direkt” he said on Thursday evening that it was planned for the interior of the restaurant “that you can only enter there if you have been vaccinated and tested twice.
Only those who have been boosted can get in that way. «This envisages a resolution proposal for the talks between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) this Friday with the Prime Ministers of the federal states.
You can read the detailed report here: Lauterbach calls gastronomy a »problem area«
Lauterbach explained: »Gastronomy is a problem area.
You often sit there for hours without a mask.
And if the people there then infect each other, as we see a lot at Omikron, then we need better protection, hence 2G plus, i.e. vaccinated and additionally tested. «Lauterbach did not rule out further contact restrictions for the future.
oka / AFP / dpa / Reuters