The more contagious B117 coronavirus variant meets Europe... and Germany considers the Russian Sputnik vaccine as the EU fails to deliver vaccine doses. Germany weighs longer COVID lockdown amid 'exponential' rise German Health Minister Jens Spahn has said that rising infections mean it may be impossible to ease restrictions in the coming weeks. Experts now warn that the rise in cases is "clearly exponential." https://www.dw.com/en/germany-weigh...GK_RSS_SmartNews_Volltext_ENG-20051-xml-media Germany may not be able to relax lockdown measures in the run-up to Easter, the country's health minister said on Friday. Jens Spahn made his comments as Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases warned that case numbers were rising at a "very clearly exponential rate." "The rising case numbers may mean that we are unable to take any further steps towards opening up in the weeks to come. On the contrary, we may even have to take steps backwards," Spahn said. Health authorities say highly contagious variants have driven up case numbers in the EU's biggest country, which is entering a third wave of the disease. Germany eyes deal for Russia shot Spahn said such a wave could not be stopped by vaccinations alone, amid a sluggish rollout of the shots across the EU as a whole. "There are not yet enough vaccine doses in Europe to stop the third wave by vaccination alone," says Spahn. "Even if the deliveries from EU orders come reliably, it will still take a few weeks until the risk groups are fully vaccinated." Spahn said he would be in favor of signing a national supply deal with Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19. "I can also well imagine that we conclude contracts — and conclude them quickly," he told a weekly news conference. "I am actually very much in favor of us doing it nationally if the European Union does not do something." The health minister said Germany was in close contact with Russia on the vaccine. A prerequisite was to obtain more detail on how many doses could be delivered, he said. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet the country's 16 state leaders on Monday to set new lockdown rules based on the latest developments. Variant drives virus momentum Meanwhile, the RKI has urged people not to travel over the Easter period to contain the number of cases. "The infection process is gaining momentum," RKI Vice President Lars Schaade told reporters on Friday. The rapid spread of the more contagious B117 coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK meant that "unfortunately, there are difficult weeks ahead," he added. "It is very possible that we will have a similar situation over Easter to the one we had before Christmas, with very high case numbers, many severe cases and deaths and hospitals that are overwhelmed," Schaade said.
Meanwhile, in Amarillo, TX, restaurant food preparers and servers at a travel center are no longer wearing masks. Oh, the potential legal liability for the twice bankrupted chain, much less the potential hot zone possibilities that could very well effect transportation workers nationwide, potentially exasperating the current worker supply bottleneck the industry is currently experiencing.
1. gwBelying's -model countries failing for a third time. 2. many lockdown countries have done no better than non lockdown areas. 3. Could be that the only way to do this without the vaccine is to actually protect the high risk and let the healthy develop immunity to the virus and the variants... 4. Charts in country or state with open borders... mostly show the same type of pattern... Virus go up.... ICU admits go up... deaths unfortunately go up for mostly the high risk. Virus peak... the other charts follow. Isn't it time these morons admit that a fair amount of you population has had to catch the virus and then the charts go back down...until the next variant? So... isn't it time we really follow the data and the science and do what dePrado and a few of us here have been saying since March. Protect the high properly... explain the data to them. Let the low risk live their lives if they so wish.
Many of Germany's COVID problems occurred when they reduced restrictions late last year at the borders. These are some the most highly infected regions in the country. Due to this, Germany is targeting regions for vaccination first. This is also a cautionary tale about opening your borders in the middle of a global pandemic. Germany targets doctors, border states in vaccination drive https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-vaccinesum-idUSKBN2BB1CO Germany will supply general practitioners with vaccines and deliver additional doses to regions on the Czech and French borders as it seeks to get its campaign back on track following a three-day pause in using the AstraZeneca shot. “The motto is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states. Case numbers have been rising in Germany, driven by an easing of restrictions in recent weeks just as a more transmissible variant of the virus has spread, underlining the need to accelerate vaccinations to protect the vulnerable. The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine was the latest hurdle in Germany’s vaccination campaign, which has been plagued by delivery delays and news reports of side-effects. As of Friday, just 8.5% of the population had received a first shot, far behind other countries like the United States and Britain. “I think we have a good chance of offering a vaccine to every resident by the end of the summer,” Merkel said. Health Minister Jens Spahn earlier on Friday warned that vaccinations alone would not be able to contain the third wave of the pandemic as there are not enough doses, and said restrictions that were lifted may have to be reimposed to contain the spread of the virus.
How many times will they change directions? Who knows with all of the idiot advice they keep getting.
Germany considers compulsory quarantines for people returning from abroad https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-cases-idUSKBN2BD0CW Germany is considering making all people returning from abroad face quarantine and compulsory COVID-19 tests after infection rates jumped above the level at which authorities say hospitals will be overstretched. The latest proposal is contained in draft plans, seen by Reuters, which will be discussed by national and leaders in a Monday meeting when they are due to decide on the next round of measures to deal with the pandemic. At their last meeting early this month, the leaders agreed a cautious opening, over the objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who warned that more infectious variants meant the pandemic would be hard to control. According to the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, the number of cases per 100,000 population over a week stood at 103.9 on Sunday, above the 100 threshold at which intensive care units can no longer keep up. Public fatigue over lockdown measures, now in their fourth month, is growing but the numbers suggest state premiers may be forced to pull the “emergency brake” they agreed to on March 2, reversing the opening of some shops. The new proposals appear directed at people considering holidaying in places, like the Spanish island of Majorca, which are not considered virus risk areas and therefore do not currently trigger a quarantine on returning to Germany. Holiday destinations should be targeted “since we can expect that holidaymakers from many countries will meet in popular holiday destinations, letting COVID-19 variants spread easily,” according to the draft plans. Earlier, Stephan Weil, premier of Lower Saxony, told the RND newspaper group that the government’s earlier decision to lift the travel warning for Majorca had been a “serious error”. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany has increased by 13,733 to 2,659,516, the Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday. The reported death toll has risen by 99 to 74,664, the tally showed. The draft plans would also tighten obligations on companies: those who were unable to offer their employees the option of working from home would have to provide them with two rapid COVID-19 tests each week.
Germany's COVID rate exceeds critical 100 in 100,000 rate The seven-day incidence of new coronavirus infections has exceeded the critical benchmark of 100. The significant rise in case numbers is likely to dominate top discussions on COVID-19 restrictions scheduled for Monday. https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-covid-rate-exceeds-critical-100-in-100000-rate/a-56942467
COVID-19: Scientists worried European infection rates will thwart summer foreign holidays Exponential growth in cases in countries like Germany puts in doubt roadmap proposals to restart international travel by 21 June. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19...-will-thwart-summer-foreign-holidays-12251548
‘We have a new pandemic’: Angela Merkel sounds dire warning over dominant UK Covid variant in Germany as she orders Easter lockdown https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/germany-lockdown-update-easter-covid-variant-uk-b925662.html