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People are waiting for their corona test in front of a test center in Paris (symbol image)
Photo: SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS
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RKI
registers more than 100,000 new corona infections within 24 hours
4.30 a.m .:
The number of new corona infections in Germany has exceeded the mark of 100,000 a day.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the number of new infections in the past 24 hours on Wednesday morning as 112,323.
The day before the value was 74,405, a week ago it was 80,430.
It was a new daily high.
As the RKI further announced on Wednesday, the seven-day incidence rose to 584.4 – also a new high.
On Tuesday the value was 553.2, a week ago it was 407.5.
The incidence quantifies the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of seven days.
It was the sixth day in a row with a new high.
The number of commuters is increasing despite the pandemic
4:05 a.m .:
The number of commuters in Germany increased in 2021 despite the corona pandemic and the home office requirement. A good 3.5 million employees did not work in the federal state in which they lived last year - 150,000 more than in the previous year, the "Rheinische Post" reported, citing data from the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The number of long-distance commuters grew by 4.5 percent in the corona year 2021 compared to the previous year.
According to the data, more than one in ten employees subject to social security contributions left their home state to commute to work.
Last year, the countries in which a particularly large number of people from outside came to work included North Rhine-Westphalia (461,000 so-called commuters), Baden-Württemberg (426,000), Bavaria (425,000), Hesse (408,000) and the city states of Hamburg (368,000 ) and Berlin (366,000).
There was a particularly high proportion of commuter employees who leave their state for work in Lower Saxony (454,000), Rhineland-Palatinate (338,000), Brandenburg (305,000), Schleswig-Holstein (244,000) and Saxony-Anhalt (141,000) .
Davos group Patriotic Millionaires demands higher taxes for the rich
3:39 a.m .:
On the occasion of the virtual World Economic Forum in Davos, a group of more than a hundred billionaires and millionaires called for greater taxation of assets. "As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is not fair," said an open letter from the Patriotic Millionaires. For most members, despite the suffering of the past two years, their wealth has actually increased during the pandemic.
The development aid organization Oxfam reported on Monday that the ten richest people in the world had doubled their wealth to $ 1.5 trillion during the corona pandemic.
A World Economic Forum response to the letter said fair taxation was one of the forum's principles.
A wealth tax could be a good approach for other countries.
The forum in Switzerland – where such a tax is levied – is currently taking place virtually because of the pandemic.
A speech by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected today (Wednesday).
Minister of Labor wants to introduce the right to digital corporate co-determination
3:17 a.m .:
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to introduce a right to digital operational co-determination.
"The pandemic situation, in which many worked from home, showed how important it is that employees can also be reached via digital channels," Heil told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
He therefore wants to create a "contemporary right for trade unions to digital access to companies".
It should correspond to the analogous rights of the trade unions.
In addition, in the future works councils would have to be able to decide for themselves whether they would work analogously or digitally, said Heil.
Heil spoke on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Works Constitution Act on Wednesday.
Australia: More deaths expected from omicron wave, health system overloaded
3:05 a.m .:
Australians should prepare for further corona deaths in the coming weeks.
"We have and will continue to see deaths, primarily among the elderly or those with chronic illnesses," Australian Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly told ABC on Wednesday -- a day after the country experienced its deadliest day since the pandemic began.
Because of the record numbers, hospitals in the state of Victoria will be set to “Code Brown” status from Wednesday noon (local time) – this status is normally reserved for natural disasters or a mass incident with injuries.
The nursing staff in the state of New South Wales, which borders Victoria, is also under pressure.
On Wednesday, many workers protested against understaffing in care in front of one of Sydney's largest hospitals.
"Nurses and midwives are tired, angry and frustrated and feel like the New South Wales government is not supporting them at all," said Shaye Candish of the Nursing Union.
Corona scam: Florida man sentenced to three and a half years in prison
2:26 a.m.:
A Florida man has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for improperly receiving more than $800,000 from Covid-19 relief funds.
The 63-year-old pleaded guilty in September 2021, the verdict was reached on Friday in Tampa, Florida, according to court documents.
In addition to the prison sentence, he must pay back the money received.
The convict had submitted bogus applications for two different US aid programs in 2020 on behalf of defunct companies.
In the filings, he claimed the companies are operating and have suffered economic damage because of the pandemic.
Brazil records new infection record
1:57 a.m .:
Brazil has set a new record for corona infections with 137,103 cases within 24 hours, according to figures from the Ministry of Health on Tuesday. The previous record was registered on June 23, 2021, when 115,228 new infections were reported within 24 hours. The country of 213 million has recorded 621,517 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began - the second-highest number after the United States.
As in many other countries, the infections had recently picked up again significantly.
"The peak should be reached in February and the situation should stabilize again," epidemiologist Ethel Maciel from the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes) told the AFP news agency.
"But we don't yet know how the carnival will play out," she warned.
It starts at the end of February.
Supreme Court judges argue about wearing masks in the courtroom
1:45 a.m.:
Top US judges are reportedly arguing about wearing masks in the courtroom.
National Public Radio (NPR) reported Tuesday, citing court sources, that Supreme Court Chief John Roberts had asked his peers to wear masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Conservative judge Neil Gorsuch rejected it.
NPR had reported that Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who has diabetes, "doesn't feel safe around people who are unmasked."
Roberts therefore asked his colleagues to take this into account, and with the exception of Gorsuch, all other judges followed suit at the most recent hearing last Tuesday.
Gorsuch, 54, was nominated for office by former Republican President Donald Trump.
Sotomayor, 67, who sits next to Gorsuch on the bench, attended the court's recent hearings online from her office.
NPR reported that she also attended the judges' weekly conferences over the phone rather than in person.
Wearing masks, like vaccination, has become a political issue in the United States.
Gorsuch was one of six conservative Supreme Court justices who last week overturned Democrat Joe Biden's government's proposed vaccination requirement for large corporations.
Sotomayor and the other two liberal judges, on the other hand, voted for compulsory vaccination and testing.
More
corona
vaccines needed: millions for Cepi vaccine initiative
1:07 a.m . :
The Cepi vaccine initiative, which is behind some successful corona vaccines, receives fresh money. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the British Wellcome Trust have jointly committed $300 million to further Covid-19 vaccine research and improve preparedness for future pandemics.
One of the goals is a new generation of corona vaccines that are effective regardless of new variants.
Cepi also invests in research into vaccines against other diseases, such as those caused by Nipah or Lassa viruses.
Both are on a World Health Organization (WHO) list of the eight most potentially dangerous pathogens that "pose the greatest risk to public health because of their epidemic potential."
Cepi has more than 20 vaccine candidates that are not yet fully developed but are promising.
One of Cepi's priorities is making the vaccines available to poorer countries.
Lauterbach expects the omicron wave to peak in mid-February
12:30 a.m .:
The Federal Minister of Health expects the omicron wave to peak in a few weeks.
In addition, the obligation to vaccinate must come “quickly” in order to avert the next wave in autumn.
Read the full announcement here.
aar/AFP/dpa/Reuters
