Coronavirus Live Ticker: +++ 07:36 Grütters: Municipalities must “not let the culture of all things bleed out” +++

After the expected end of the corona pandemic, theaters, museums, and cultural workers may slide straight into the next crisis. Cultural experts at the federal and state levels fear lack of recognition and false savings. The Minister of State for Culture, Monika Grütters, warned municipalities against budget restructuring at the expense of culture. “Most of the institutions financed by the state are municipalities, many theaters and museums are municipal institutions,” said the CDU politician. Municipalities have been relieved elsewhere with several billions, and the federal government is helping fund non-governmental institutions such as cinemas, bookstores, galleries, festivals, and private theaters. “This creates leeway for municipalities, so we can rightly hope that when the cash register goes down at the end of the year, of all things, the culture won’t bleed.” After the first negative signals from municipalities like Munich, where drastic savings in the cultural budget are pending, Grütters hopes that others will not follow. “Then more would break than can be rebuilt. Because each place, each municipality lives off its culture in many ways. It is not only an important location factor, it is one thing above all else: it is an expression of humanity.”

+++ 07:06 “Deliberately limited”: Scholz defends end of VAT reduction +++
Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz defended the end of the temporary VAT reduction. “We deliberately limit the VAT reduction in the summer so that consumers do not postpone larger purchases due to the pandemic,” the SPD politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group. The new year begins with a tax cut, as solos will be abolished for 90 percent of taxpayers. Another 6.5 percent paid less. In addition, there are more child benefits and higher child allowances.

+++ 05:24 RKI reports 13,755 new infections +++
Health authorities have reported 13,755 additional coronavirus infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Since not all offices transmit data on weekends, the number of cases reported by the RKI is usually lower on Sundays and Mondays than on other days of the week. Last Sunday 22,700 new infections were reported. 356 people infected with the virus have died in the last 24 hours. The total number of registered corona deaths since the start of the pandemic has risen to 29,778.

+++ 05:01 Seehofer against the special rights of vaccinated people +++
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer believes that anyone who is vaccinated against Corona should not have any special rights. “A distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated people amounts to mandatory vaccination. But I am against mandatory vaccination,” said the CSU politician from “Bild am Sonntag.” “We are all in this crisis. And we must fight to come out together and in solidarity.” Seehofer also rejects special rights of private companies such as airlines or concert organizers for vaccinated people. “I can only warn against that,” he told the newspaper. This divides society. “The privilege of one is the disadvantage of the other.”

+++ 04:36 pandemic could give thieves a historically bad year +++
During the Corona crisis, the number of robberies in Germany fell for the fifth year in a row. In the area of ​​property crimes, the trend was down in the year that is coming to an end, said the Federal Office of Criminal Police (BKA), even if it is not yet possible to name concrete case numbers nationwide. . The BKA referred to “changed criminal structures” during the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, far fewer apartments would have been empty during the day. Recently, the insurance industry even thought it was possible that the Corona crisis could lead to a record low in thefts. The number of attempted and completed robberies had risen steadily between 2008 and 2015 and reached a worrying level. The peak was finally 167,136 cases registered nationwide. In 2016 there was a further decline for the first time and this continued thereafter. For 2019, crime statistics still recorded 87,145 crimes of this type across the country.

+++ 04:20 Spahn surprised by early start of vaccination in Saxony-Anhalt +++
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is surprised by the vaccinations that began on Saturday in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt. The minister is happy about the first corona vaccine in Germany, said his “Bild am Sonntag” spokesman. “However, we had agreed with all the EU partner countries and with the 16 federal states to deliver everyone on Saturday and start vaccinations together from Sunday.” At a retirement home in Halberstadt, residents and staff were vaccinated on Saturday. In many EU countries, vaccinations officially start on Sunday. Hungary and Slovakia had gone ahead on Saturday and had already started immunization.

+++ 04:01 “Don’t take care of yourself”: Maas urges a fair distribution of vaccines around the world +++
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has called for corona vaccines to be seen beyond the box. The SPD politician said that now it was a fair distribution in the country itself. But at the same time, it must be ensured that the supply of vaccines to entire regions of the world is not cut off. “Each and every one of us will only be safe when we are all safe in the world from this virus,” the minister emphasized. Without widespread distribution of vaccines around the world, the virus could return. “That is why it is also a question of the effectiveness of the fight against the pandemic that you not only take care of yourself, but also make sure that the virus is eradicated in all regions of the world.” The group of major economic powers (G20), which also includes Germany, committed to a fair distribution of vaccines in November. The Covax initiative, supported by the World Health Organization, wants to ensure that poor countries are not at a disadvantage.

+++ 03:36 The Minister of Development asks for donations +++
Development Minister Gerd Müller asks people in Germany to donate. In Corona times, aid is particularly important, the CSU politician told the “Tagesspiegel”. The consequences of the pandemic would return 130 million people to hunger and extreme poverty. The church and other humanitarian organizations have difficulty obtaining donations because church services or events cannot take place. “Therefore, it is even more important that people take the initiative and donate,” Müller said.

+++ 03:07 Europol warns about vaccine fraud +++
European police authority Europol warns of fraud related to corona vaccines. There is a real danger that criminals will try to take advantage of the huge demand, director Catherine De Bolle told the newspapers of the Funke media group. There are already specific indications, such as sales offers on social networks. Whoever gets on it will not be delivered after payment or will receive a fake vaccine. “Obviously, being the victim of fraud like this can have serious health consequences,” he warned. Europol had already sent a warning to the Member States and asked them to be very vigilant. In addition, the authorities would have to be prepared for attempted robberies.

+++ 02:24 Argentina starts vaccinations with Sputnik V +++
Argentina wants to start vaccinations against the corona virus as of Tuesday. According to the government, the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is used, which had received emergency approval from the authorities. Argentina is the third country after Russia and Belarus where the vaccine has received the green light. About 300,000 doses of the agent arrived in Argentina on Thursday. The South American country also approved the Biontech and Pfizer vaccine.

+++ 01:08 From spitting to hitting: 200 attacks on public order employees +++
When attempts are made to implement crown protection measures, employees of law enforcement offices have been physically and verbally attacked dozens of times across the country. A “Welt am Sonntag” query in 15 of the largest cities showed that they have recorded a total of 65 physical attacks since spring. Physical attacks were particularly frequent in Berlin with 23 cases, in Cologne with 18 cases and in Bremen with 10 cases. The municipal administrations report broken bones, contusions and sprains. In addition, there were hundreds of verbal attacks and the emergency services were deliberately spat on or coughed up. Cities brought criminal charges against aggressive citizens in a total of more than 200 cases.

+++ Survey 00:22: the family gains importance in the crisis +++
In times of the corona pandemic and restrictions in everyday life, Germans think of their families. The “Welt am Sonntag” reports, which cite a survey by the Infratest Dimap institute, a good quarter of those surveyed (28 percent) believe that their own family has become more important since the corona pandemic outbreak. 71 percent said not much has changed. At first glance, that sounds like a low value, said the newspaper’s futurologist and educator Horst Opaschowski, “But 90 percent of Germans already say that family is the most important thing in life for them. That can hardly be improved. “

+++ 23:57 A new virus mutation was also detected in Canada +++
The variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain has now been detected in Canada as well. Two cases have been reported in the province of Ontario. A couple from the south of the province were infected with the mutation, authorities said. As far as is known, both people had not traveled recently and had not had risky contact.

+++ 22:48 Head of WHO: This pandemic will not be the last +++
According to the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the current crisis in the crown will not be the last pandemic. The head of the World Health Organization warned in a video message that all attempts to improve the health situation in the world are doomed to failure as long as humans do not effectively combat climate change and animal welfare. The pandemic has highlighted the close links between human, animal and planet health, Ghebreyesus said. For too long, the world has simply operated in a “cycle of panic and neglect.” “We put money into one outbreak and when it ends we forget it and do nothing to prevent the next. It is dangerously short-sighted and, frankly, difficult to understand.”

+++ 21:59 Current data situation in Germany: almost 14,000 new cases reported +++
The number of coronavirus infections reported in Germany has risen to 1,639,031. As can be seen from the information from the state authorities evaluated by ntv.de, there were 13,989 new cases added. The number of deaths related to the infection increased by 277 to 29,706. Around 376,819 people are currently infected. However, due to the Christmas holidays, the number of reports is significantly lower than normal, so the actual number of new infections is likely higher.