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Ireland extends exit restrictions
12.45 p.m .: The Irish government has extended restrictions on freedom of movement in the country due to the crown pandemic until May 5. This was announced by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. “I know that many of us want to know when normalcy returns and life becomes as it was,” Varadkar said. “The truth is that nobody can say with certainty when it will be or how our lives will change when the time comes,” said the head of government.
Ireland has had strict freedom of movement requirements since March 27 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Except for shopping, playing sports, and working, people are no longer allowed to leave their homes.
As of Friday, there were 263 deaths related to Covid-19 lung disease in the country. So far, more than 7,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Consequences of the crown crisis in Southeast Asia: “It is silent in Boracay”
12.30 p.m .: Without tourists, without income: according to the World Bank, 11 million people in Southeast Asia could fall into poverty again. Three affected people who have already lost their jobs due to the report of the crown crisis.
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Contact restrictions in the UK are not eased
12:15 p.m.: According to Health Minister Matt Hancock, Britain has not yet come to relax contact restrictions. “We are not there yet,” Hancock said on BBC radio. Before there could be changes in strict protection measures, the country had to overcome the climax of the epidemic. Although the number of hospital admissions is flat, there is still insufficient evidence to show that the worst is over. The number of deaths from recently reported coronavirus infection in the UK increased from 980 to almost 9000.
The number of daily crown deaths in Spain is decreasing
11.45 a.m.: 510 people died in Spain within 24 hours after the effects of Covid-19. The Ministry of Health announced on Saturday. This reduced the number of daily crown deaths in Spain for the third consecutive day. The number had been lower on March 23, nearly three weeks ago.
In total, 16,353 people have died in Spain. Sars-CoV-2 infection has been detected in 161,852 people in Spain.
In recent days, some regions have reported more patients discharged than new infections for the first time since the crisis began. According to the authorities, the pressure on hospitals and intensive care units is constantly decreasing. The government attributes the positive trend to the very strict curfew that has been applied to the country’s approximately 47 million citizens for four weeks.
On Thursday, parliament approved an extension of the alarm state, including banning the day until midnight on April 25. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a new extension would likely be necessary later. Loosening is not excluded. The return to normality should be “gradual” and “very careful”.
No layoffs at Siemens
11.40 am: Siemens does not want to cut jobs due to the crown crisis. “Due to a temporary fluctuation in employment, no one at Siemens will leave the house,” says CEO Joe Kaeser of the “Passauer Neue Presse.” “We’ll get through it together!” However, he can’t rule out more employees having to work for a short time, Kaeser says. 1,600 of a total of 120,000 Siemens employees in Germany are currently working on short notice.
Heroes of the everyday crown
11.30 am: Public life stops, but some people keep society going. Here is your opinion.
500 police officers control exit restrictions in Berlin
11.20 a.m.: on Holy Saturday, around 500 officers verified compliance with the crown rules in the capital on Holy Saturday. In spring weather, parks and other green areas in particular are taken into account, as a police spokeswoman said. Civilians should also be on the move.
To limit the spread of the virus, people should keep a minimum distance of 1.50 meters. Groups of more than two people cannot go for a walk unless they live in a home.
During the week, the police had announced that they would not use drones to monitor the crown rules. Checks were always carried out in person. To get an overview of the possible crowds of people, the use of the police helicopter is planned.
Fraud in the crown crisis: the Schmu with short-term work
11:00 am: There has never been an assignment for such a short time as easy as today. This is where fraud attracts: you collect the subsidy and still let it work entirely. But the risk is high.
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Covid-19 drug approval this year
10.25 a.m. – There could be a drug approval against Covid-19 this year. The president of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), Karl Broich, confirmed the experts’ assessment. “I guess in the late summer we will get the first reliable results from the studies that are underway,” Broich told the Bonn “General-Anzeiger”. “If the data gives it, I am very confident that we can issue an approval this year.”
There is currently no evidence of efficacy for any medications, Broich said. Positive indications are questioned, for example with the virus-inhibiting drug Remdesivir or with the chloroquine used in China. “Currently, no statement can be made about the effectiveness of Covid-19 on any medication,” says the BfArM. You must first see the results of ongoing clinical trials.
It usually takes several years to develop a completely new medicine to treat specific infections. Human clinical trials are particularly complex. Therefore, many approaches currently focus on drugs that are already being developed for other diseases or even approved for other areas. They could be used faster than when developing a new active ingredient.
There is already a so-called difficulties program for Remdesivir, in which severely affected patients can already be treated with the medicine. Broich continued to pay attention to safety regulations.
Australians and New Zealanders are allowed to leave the cruise.
10:10 am: The cruise ship “Greg Mortimer” with numerous coronavirus infections on board entered the port of the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. 112 passengers from Australia and New Zealand can return to their home countries, travelers from the two states were taken to the airport by bus and are supposed to fly to Melbourne on Saturday.
Passengers from other countries must remain on board until Uruguay also finds a solution for them with their countries of origin. Among other things, passengers from the United States, Great Britain and other European countries are said to be on the ship.
Nearly 60 percent of the more than 200 people on board had previously tested positive for the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. Eight patients have already been transferred to Montevideo hospitals. Originally there were more than 210 people on the ship.
According to Australian broadcaster ABC, the ship went to sea in mid-March for a trip to Antarctica, but had been anchored near Montevideo since March 21. Investing in the South American country was not allowed.
Turkey: weekend departure ban in 31 cities
9.55 am: The Turkish government has imposed an exit ban on 31 cities this weekend due to the crown crisis. This also included the country’s largest city, the Istanbul metropolis, as confirmed by provincial governor Ali Yerlikaya. According to a tweet from the Interior Ministry, the capital city of Ankara and the main cities of Izmir and Antalya are also affected. The ban lasted until midnight Monday night, the tweet said.
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Federal states must coordinate when schools reopen
9.35 a.m. – Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) has called on federal states to join forces to reopen schools. “The state should act as coordinated as possible in this crisis,” he told the German Press Agency. Federal states must develop uniform criteria for returning to normal school life.
Karliczek said he shared the opinion of Armin Laschet, prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. The CDU politician had called for a consensus from the 16 federal states on the timetable for the reopening of schools and daycares. Central requirements for schools are not possible in Germany because education is the responsibility of the federal states.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and state prime ministers want to discuss next Wednesday how to proceed in the crown crisis and the possible reduction of strict restrictions. It should also be about schools.
Opinions differed on how to proceed there. Merkel herself said in her last press conference before Easter that she did not view schools and kindergartens “as the place where the simplest measure can now guarantee the distance that is still needed.” There seems to be a consensus that school operations should only start gradually. The president of the German Teachers Association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, advocates that final grades come back first. Meidinger had said that there would not be a full start of classes after the Easter break at schools.
More than 500,000 infected people in the United States
9.20 a.m. – The number of corona infections continues to rise sharply in the U.S. USA President Trump threatens to sanction countries that block the deportation of their citizens during the pandemic.
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An expert believes that nationwide school openings in China are possible this month
8:43 am: Schools in China could start teaching again in late April. This assessment was announced by the head of the government commission of experts in the fight against Sars-CoV-2, Zhong Nanshan. As long as there are no major new outbreaks, schools can be opened, he said, according to the Global Times.
With the exception of the particularly protected capital, Beijing, and the severely affected Hubei province, all provinces and metropolises have already announced concrete plans to start school again in the coming weeks.
China has controlled the disease, but now faces the risk of imported infections, the professor said in a video conference with experts. The country is seeking a careful balance between restarting the economy and preventing a “second wave” of the Sars CoV-2 virus.
Of the 46 infections recently reported on Saturday, 42 were among Chinese returning home and other travelers from abroad. There were three new deaths from Covid-19 lung disease, the Beijing Health Commission reported. China’s official statistics show 81,953 infections and 3,339 deaths. However, the survey had changed several times. It is also assumed that by no means all cases have been included in the official list.
Altmaier defends the rapid payment of Corona’s emergency aid
8.30 am: Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) defended the payment of Corona’s emergency aid without detailed examination. “It is important that money is in the account quickly before people are laid off or companies fail,” said Altmaier of the “Augsburger Allgemeine.” “A very detailed examination could lead to a waiting process that would not be possible for us in the current situation.”
North Rhine-Westphalia temporarily suspended emergency aid payments to freelancers and businesses in the crown crisis on suspicion of fraud. The data for fraudulent applications is said to have been pulled from fake websites. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, fraud should not continue to be an isolated case.
According to Altmaier, around 1.7 million requests have been received from small businesses and freelancers, freelancers and artisans across the country. More than five billion euros have already been approved. Altmaier also said that if the crown crisis hits a company hard, the state could come in and take over if necessary. “State participation in a company is always the last of all possible means and should always be a temporary exception,” said Altmaier.
