Germany’s vaccination campaign has so far lagged behind expectations, with only about 9% of the population receiving at least a first jab and 4% receiving both doses by Sunday.
Europe will be walking down the path of vaccine passports for international travel... Covid immunity passports may be needed to restart international travel, Boris Johnson says The Prime Minister said there may be a need for an international agreement on documents to prove Covid immunity https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/covid-i...al-travel-boris-johnson-928585?ito=smart-news There is a “growing global consensus” of the need for a Covid immunity passport to permit international travel, Boris Johnson has said. The Prime Minister told Parliament’s Liaison Committee on Wednesday there may be a need for an international agreement on the issue. He said: “I don’t think there has been an international concordat on vaccination passports, but there is no doubt there is a growing global consensus that for the purpose of aviation, evidence of vaccination or immunity – that you’ve had the disease – or you’ve taken a negative test, all of these will be valuable.” Pressed on whether he thought it would be necessary to bring in Covid certification in the UK, he added: “I think there is a hierarchy between mandating something and permitting it or forbidding it. “I think in some areas, as we were talking about earlier on, in particular sectors where vulnerable elderly people are being cared for, there may be some need for mandation, some need for a more permissive approach. “All that will be set out in due course.” Of desire to travel abroad, he added: “I think do not underestimate the natural wanderlust, spirit of inquiry, general dynamism of the British people that has served us for hundreds and hundreds of years. “As soon as people feel it is safe, you will see a miraculous change in the mood and what happens. That is what this is all about.” Last week, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that the Government is taking the time needed to plot “the best way to proceed” over the idea of the certificates, which proponents from airlines to the hospitality industry argue hold the key to reopening vast swathes of the economy. The European Union has already proposed a “green certificate” scheme, designed to allow freedom of movement within the bloc, which will permit travel based on digital proof of vaccination, a negative test or recovery, though the final decision will rest with member states. The chief executive of Australian airline Qantas, Alan Joyce, said last week he believed “governments are going to insist” on vaccines for international travellers as “a condition of entry”. He told the BBC: “The vast majority of our customers think this is a great idea – 90 per cent of people that we’ve surveyed think it should be a requirement for people to be vaccinated to travel internationally.”
Merkel faults German ‘perfectionism’ for current virus woes https://apnews.com/article/germany-...cine-rollout-903025327d6a0deecb4bcd93f294860d German Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed her country’s difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic — from the slow vaccine rollout to the back-and-forth over lockdown rules — partly on “a tendency toward perfectionism” and called for greater flexibility to tackle the latest surge in cases. In an hour-long television interview with public broadcaster ARD late Sunday, Merkel acknowledged that mistakes were made by her government, including on plans for an Easter lockdown, which had to be reversed. The long-time leader also expressed frustration over the actions of some of Germany’s state governors, including members of her own party, who have resisted tougher restrictions they had previously agreed to. But Merkel, who isn’t running again in September’s national election, said she stands by her pledge to offer every adult a vaccine by the end of the summer, and insisted Germany still compares well with most of its neighbors. “Perhaps we’re very perfectionist at times and want to do everything right, because obviously whoever makes a mistake always faces quite a lot of public criticism,” Merkel said. “But there needs to be flexibility, too,” she added. “That, I believe, is an attribute that we as Germans perhaps need to learn a little bit more, alongside our tendency toward perfectionism.” As an example, she cited the need for doctors and vaccine centers to have lists on hand of people who can receive shots left over at the end of the day. By Sunday, about 10.8 % of the population had received a first dose of vaccine in Germany, a far smaller share than in Britain, the United States and Israel. Merkel said she expects a significant increase in supply and the start of vaccinations in general practitioner offices next month to boost the vaccine program going forward. With recent opinion polls showing falling support for her government and party, Merkel urged Germans not to become overwhelmed by despair. “We have a difficult situation,” she said. “But look at our neighbors. With the exception of Denmark they are all grappling with the same problems, in part from a much more difficult position.” “We also need to voice a bit of courage and strength,” she said. Germany’s disease control agency on Monday reported 9,872 newly confirmed infections in the past day, and 43 deaths. Since the start of the outbreak, the country of 83 million has recorded almost 2.8 million confirmed COVID-19 infections and 75,913 deaths, significantly fewer per population than France, Britain or the United States. Asked about Britain’s decision to relax some restrictions Monday amid a sharp drop in infections, Merkel’s spokesman insisted that “it’s not a race.” “A look towards Britain shows light and shadow, and we’re happy about the light,” Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin. “And we grieve with Britain for the many, many dead they have already had to lament during this pandemic.” In her televised interview, Merkel also took aim at some state governors who have refused to trigger the so-called emergency brake they had agreed to put in place earlier this month, when weekly infection rates rise above 100 per 100,000 inhabitants. “We need to implement the necessary measures now with great seriousness,” she said. “Some states are doing that, others aren’t doing that yet.” Merkel called out three states in particular — tiny Saarland on the border with France, the capital Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia, which is run by her would-be successor Armin Laschet — for failing to adhere to either the spirit or the letter of the rules she and the governors had agreed. Possible additional measures include curfews, Merkel said, and she indicated that she might seek legislative backing from parliament if the states aren’t willing to enforce existing rules. Markus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria and another hopeful to succeed Merkel in the Sept. 26 election, voiced support for stronger nationwide rules. “If the chancellor were to take the initiative at the national level to change the law and set clear guidelines, she would have my support,” he told ARD television. Laschet, his rival to lead the chancellor’s center-right Union bloc into the election, downplayed the tensions between the federal and state governments but backed Merkel’s call for more flexibility. “The bureaucracy that we apply in Germany is a constraint, especially when it comes to vaccination, where we’re not making progress fast enough,” he said.
French President Macron under pressure to lock down as Covid-19 hospitalizations soar https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/31/europe/france-macron-lockdown-coronavirus-intl/index.html
I watched that live on the French TV news channels. I think he's been under pressure since January as the hospitalizations has slowly been deteriorating...now the hospitals are literally screaming for help... He had no choice. wrbtrader
France to close schools for 3 weeks, ban domestic travel for month as virus surges https://www.wtkr.com/news/world/fra...ban-domestic-travel-for-month-as-virus-surges French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a three-week nationwide school closure and a month-long domestic travel ban in an effort to fight the rapid spread of the coronavirus. In a televised address to the nation Wednesday night, Macron said efforts are needed as “the epidemic is accelerating.” Additionally, Macron said that restrictions already applying in the Paris are and others regions will be extended to the whole country for at least a month. Those restrictions allow resident to go outside for leisure, but only within a 10-kilometer (6 miles) radius from their homes and without gathering. Also, most non-essential shops are closed down. “If we stay united in the coming weeks ... then we will see light at the end of the tunnel,” Macron said. The moves are a departure from the government’s policy in recent months, which has focused on regionalized restrictions. School closures in particular had been seen as a very last resort. The actions come after Paris hospital officials warned the they’d have to start refusing patients due to lack of space. The total number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in France surged past 5,000 on Tuesday, the first time in 11 months the figure has been that high. Previous nationwide lockdowns in France were in March and October 2020.
Merkel is not putting up with anymore bullshiat from the German states... Merkel to take control from German states in pandemic battle https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-spahn-idUSKBN2BW0YV German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to take control from federal states to impose restrictions on regions with high numbers of new coronavirus infections, a government spokeswoman said, in a battle to curb a third wave of the pandemic. The federal government plans to introduce draft legislation next week, she said. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said this will include compulsory measures in regions with 100 or more new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people over seven days. Above an incidence of 200, distance learning was planned for schools again, he added. The incidence figure reached a high near 200 in late December, soon after Germany went from a “lockdown lite” that started in early November, during which schools and stores were open, to a full shutdown. It last stood at 110.4, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases. However, containment measures in Germany vary from region to region due to the country’s decentralised federal system. In some regions, consumers can go shopping as long as they have a negative COVID-19 test, while stores are closed in others. Some, like Berlin, have introduced nighttime bans on gatherings, while others, like Saarland, have allowed restaurants and beer gardens to open outdoor seating. “It makes good sense to regulate this uniformly for the whole of Germany, because then there will be clarity and transparency,” Scholz told reporters. “In this regard, it is a necessary, real step forward if we expand the infection (protection) law to include a regulation for exactly these cases.” SHORT, SHARP LOCKDOWN Merkel and several regional leaders have called for a short, sharp nationwide lockdown while Germany - Europe’s biggest economy and most populous country - tries to vaccinate more people. The head of Germany’s STIKO vaccine commission Thomas Mertens told Reuters TV the country’s vaccination drive could only have a marginal impact on the third wave of the virus and that a lockdown would be more effective. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 25,464 in a day, which was 3,576 more than a week earlier, data from the RKI showed on Friday. But the institute cautioned that the figures may be skewed following the long Easter holiday weekend, adding it expected reliable case numbers from around the middle of next week. A meeting of Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states scheduled for Monday, at which they were to discuss an extension to COVID restrictions, has been cancelled, the government spokeswoman said. German health minister Jens Spahn warned that nationwide measures were necessary to break the current wave of coronavirus infections as quickly as possible. He told journalists that there were currently nearly 4,500 COVID-19 patients in intensive care in Germany, adding: “If this continues, it will be too much for our health system.” Germany’s top public health official said a lockdown lasting two-four weeks was necessary to break the third wave. “Every day in which we don’t act, we lose lives,” Lothar Wieler, president of the RKI, said.
Authoritarian rulers n Germany? Maybe they should be sure their vaccines will protect against their variants before they repeat failed lockdowns. Their virus and deaths per day graphs while moving up are significantly below their peaks. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/germany/
The vaccines protect against the leading "COVID variants of concern". The problem in Germany (and Europe) is the failed vaccination rollout. The lack of available doses is causing the problems across the continent. This is all documented in the "Europe's Failed Vaccine rollout" thread - https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/europes-failed-vaccine-rollout.357325/
Look at the Philippines with the strictest lockdowns, with police and army troops with guns locking people in their homes. Has it stopped the pandemic? No. Why would it? How many lockdowns have they had? Numerous times. People will go out when they let them out and go out in mass numbers because everyone is hungry without a job? In addition, they have vaccinated how many people? There is maybe, 1,000,000 vaccines and most of it Sinovac only? Unless, they vaccinate tens of millions of filipinos which is not going to happen when they cannot even vaccinate 2,000,000 filipinos? It only gets worst from here. Hospitals are all full. There are 110,000,000 filipinos. How many are going to get vaccinated? Assuming they used up their 1,000,000 vaccines so far, they have 1,000,000 vaccinated? Number of infections continue to rise and hospitals overflowing with Corona Virus patients.