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7.21am.: South Africa wants to start corona vaccines in February
South Africa, which has been badly affected by the Corona crisis, wants to start vaccinations against Covid19 next month. “Our target is February,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday, ahead of the planned delivery of the first doses of vaccine. However, negotiations with vaccine manufacturers would have to be concluded first. Health experts had previously criticized the South African government for not launching the vaccination campaign. According to authorities, more than one million of South Africa’s approximately 59 million inhabitants have been infected by the corona virus since the start of the pandemic. This makes it the country in Africa most affected by the crisis.
7.14 am.: Poland expects doctors from the east in the pandemic
In the corona pandemic, Poland is massively requesting doctors from its eastern neighbors. An amendment to the law passed by parliament aims to simplify the approval of doctors from countries outside the EU. “We currently have more than 500 applications from doctors,” says Kacper Gasienica-Byrcyn, director of the Optimus Work staffing agency. About 80 percent would come from Ukraine, another 20 percent from Belarus (Belarus). Krzysztof Inglot from Personnel Service has had similar experiences. More than 1,500 doctors are interested in jobs in Poland. “We are mainly looking for cardiologists, pulmonologists, virologists, anesthetists and internists.”
Since Poland joined the EU in 2004, thousands of doctors have moved west. This development and the government’s austerity policy have bled the Polish health care system. According to the OECD report “Health at a Glance 2020”, there were 238 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants in Poland in 2017, more than in any other EU country.
6.39am: Karliczek currently considers full classroom teaching “unimaginable”
In the debate on resuming school lessons during the corona pandemic, Education Minister Anja Karliczek has put the population in the mood for more difficult weeks. A complete return to full face-to-face teaching in all age groups is “unimaginable” due to the infection situation these days, the CDU politician told the Funke media group newspapers. It is also unclear what effect Christmas days and the turn of the year would have on the numbers. Today the ministers of education of the federal states are discussing the situation, tomorrow Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers.
6.09 a.m.: Japan is considering a new state of emergency for Tokyo
In view of the increased number of corona infections, Japan is again considering declaring a state of emergency for the Tokyo metropolitan area, but preparations for the summer Olympics should continue. That’s what Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday. The governors of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures had previously urged their government to re-declare a state of emergency for the Tokyo metropolitan area after the nation’s capital reported a new record of 1,337 new infections by the New Year.
5.53 am.: RKI registers 9,847 new corona infections
German health authorities reported 9,847 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in one day. There were also 302 new Covid19-related deaths in 24 hours, according to the RKI on Monday morning.
An interpretation of the data remains difficult because around Christmas and the turn of the year corona cases were discovered, recorded and transmitted late, according to the RKI. On Wednesday (December 30) the maximum of 1,129 new deaths was reached. Among new infections recorded within 24 hours, the highest value was reported on December 18, at 33,777, but this included 3,500 late reports.
5.30am.: Lauterbach calls for a “consistent” block
Karl Lauterbach, a health expert from the SPD, advocates in the “Passauer Neue Presse” for a “constant” and unlimited blockade. “We have to reduce the number of new infections more significantly than planned so far. An incidence value of 50 is not enough, because in the future we will probably have to deal with a variant of the virus that is much more contagious than previously widespread in Germany. ” The rate of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days should be reduced to 25, the SPD politician warned. On Sunday the rate in Germany was 139.6.
4.04 am.: Great Britain begins second crown shot
In the fight against the corona pandemic, the vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca group and the University of Oxford will also be used in Britain from Monday. According to the government, 530,000 doses of this vaccine are initially available. In total, Britain has ordered 100 million cans from AstraZeneca.
So far, more than a million doses of the vaccine from Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer have been administered in the UK. Britain is one of the countries hardest hit by the corona pandemic in Europe. In the fight against the virus, the government relies on a rapid vaccination campaign.
