The latest on the crown crisis: the blemishes are preparing to open, with mixed feelings – news

Economist: quarantined, state must continue to pay wages

According to economist Monika Bütler, an application on the smartphone to track personal contacts can help contain contagious diseases. A positive test for coronavirus will contact all close contacts of the infected person in the past few days and instruct them to be quarantined. An app supports this process, said Bütler, who heads the business task force in the federal crown workforce, the Tamedia newspapers.

Anyone who uses the application and has had contact with an infected person will be automatically and anonymously informed and asked to contact the authorities. For those affected to do this, they would have to be protected. This means that they continue to receive their wages, are protected by labor law, and receive logistical support during quarantine.

Today it is the case that the employer pays the costs of the people in quarantine. However, it would be ideal if the costs were not passed on to the employer. This is a very high burden, especially for small businesses with few employees. Bütler advocates the continuation of wages paid during the quarantine of the income replacement scheme.

Bütler also commented on the question of whether tenants will not receive part of the rent. The group of business experts proposes that the state promote negotiated solutions. If, for example, tenants and landlords agreed to a 50 percent rent reduction, the state would pay 25 percent of the rent. The landlord would receive 75 percent of the original rent, the tenant 50 percent off.

Japan: less than 100 new infections per day

The Land of the Rising Sun wants to change its criteria for crown tests. So far, only people who have had a fever of 37.5 degrees for at least four days in a row can be tested for the pathogen. This condition had been criticized as too high an obstacle. Japan has far fewer tests than other countries: just 188 tests per 100,000 people, while in many other countries there are more than 1,000 tests, the Japanese media reports, citing experts. This was justified, among other things, by obsolete equipment and the lack of government facilities and experts for such tests.

Meanwhile, the number of new daily coronavirus infections has fallen below the 100 mark for the first time in weeks. Japanese television station NHK reports in the morning that 96 new infections were recorded the day before, the first time since March 30 that fewer than 100 cases were reported. 23 of them were in the capital Tokyo. So far, the island kingdom has counted more than 16,200 infections and 603 deaths.

Zurich: Up to 15 percent of teachers could be missing on Monday

Schools in the canton of Zurich will reopen next Monday. About 10 to 15 percent of teaching staff may be missing because they belong to the risk group or live with someone in the risk group. According to the director of education, Silvia Steiner, this is only a very rough estimate. The missing teachers would be replaced by vicars, Steiner told the “Tages-Anzeiger”. The Volksschulamt also verified with the Zurich University of Teacher Education and the Unterstrass Institute the use of students for substitutes. I was convinced that schools would find good solutions. At the same time, you are aware that not everything will work from the first minute.

Steiner also commented on his controversial statements in an interview with the NZZ. She raised the question of whether Matura’s tests make sense at the end of high school. In no way did it mean that Matura’s examinations should be abolished entirely. But today’s form must be reconsidered. Steiner pointed out to the “Tagesanzeiger” about the difficult framework conditions for this year’s Matura exams. There are 2,800 high school graduates in the canton of Zurich. They would have to be verified with a safety distance of two meters. That needs a lot more rooms and twice as many supervisors.

But it is much more important that there be equal opportunities. And that is not guaranteed. In weeks of distance learning, not everyone would have had the same learning conditions. Also, the exams would have to be completely redesigned to be able to take them again. That is a great effort for teachers.

Frontex: a new influx of migrants is expected

According to an internal assessment, the European border protection agency Frontex apparently expects a new influx of migrants to the Turkish-Greek border. This is reported by the newspaper “Die Welt” and refers to a confidential situation report from the so-called Frontex Situation Center. According to the report, after restrictions on the crown crisis were lifted in Canakkale, Istanbul and Izmir provinces, “massive migrant movements towards the Greek-Turkish border” could be expected.

In late February and early March, with Ankara’s consent, thousands of migrants besieged the Turkish-Greek border and attempted to storm the European external border. The Turkish leadership had tried, among other things, to persuade the EU to transfer billions in aid for the accommodation and care of migrants in Turkey more quickly.

Berlin: no end to border controls

Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer rejects calls for border controls to end prematurely. “Border controls have made a difference and are part of our success so far in containing the infection,” said the CSU politician. The federal government agreed to continue the controls until May 15. However, there will be talks with federal states and neighboring countries and he will decide the way forward in the coming week.

The German federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony had rejected and avoided border controls in the Netherlands and Belgium in the Corona crisis. The prime ministers of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria had agreed on border controls with the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Japan / United States: slowdown in private consumption

Japanese consumers spent significantly less on the coronavirus pandemic in March. Household spending fell 6 percent year-over-year, government data showed on Friday. In February, spending fell 0.3 percent. Analysts had expected a 6.7 percent drop in March.

The sharp decline shows how severely the world’s third largest economy has been hit by virus containment restrictions. People in Japan stay at home, the business is closed.

Similar situation in the United States: consumer loans fell in March, against experts’ expectations. Compared to the previous month, loans decreased by $ 12 billion, the Fed in Washington said. Economists, on the other hand, expected an average increase of $ 15 billion. In the previous month, the volume of credit had increased by 19.92 billion.

UN: “The worst crisis in world tourism”

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the crown pandemic will result in a 60 to 80 percent drop in international travel this year compared to 2019. In the first quarter, the number of tourists worldwide It had already decreased by 22 percent due to the virus and associated travel restrictions, the Madrid-based United Nations organization said. International travel has seen about 67 million fewer tourists in the first three months of this year, which means a loss of $ 80 billion. A 57 percent decrease was recorded in March, according to the UNWTO report, The link opens in a new window.

“The world is facing an unprecedented economic and health crisis,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. He warned that millions of people in the industry are at risk of losing their jobs. UNWTO has spoken of the “worst tourism crisis in the world” since records began in 1950.

Wrath of the crown: customer fires in fast food restaurants

A customer opened fire on staff because the restaurant area at a McDonald’s in the US state of Oklahoma was closed during the coronavirus crisis. Four employees of the fast food restaurant in Oklahoma City, which currently only offers takeout, were injured in the incident, police said Thursday. The 32-year-old man was arrested soon after.

A police spokeswoman told NBC that the restaurant’s rest area was closed to contain the coronavirus. The woman had been informed that the restaurant area was not accessible. However, she refused to leave the restaurant. The employees then pushed the woman away. Then he came back with a gun and opened fire. Three restaurant employees suffered gunshot wounds and were treated at the hospital. A fourth employee has a head injury. None of the injuries is life threatening.

Crown cases for soccer professionals

With the Italian first division soccer team AC Florence and Sampdoria Genoa A total of seven players tested positive for COVID-19. AC and Genoa announced on Thursday. Both clubs left open what professionals. Interested Florence actors, who showed no symptoms, were quarantined. In addition, three members of the medical staff were infected with the coronavirus. Three other infected professionals from Florence are now considered healed. The health check begins today Friday before the start of the individual training.

The league’s competitor, Sampdoria, had already detected the corona virus in five professionals and in the club’s doctor. You have already survived the disease.

Brazil soccer champions too CR Flamengo You have to struggle with the spread of the corona virus in the club environment. Three players tested positive for COVID-19, the club said. “Of the 293 people who were tested, 38 were positive, sometimes without symptoms,” the association said. The infections were found in tests between April 30 and May 3 in association employees and their families. Antibodies against the virus were also discovered in two professionals. Those infected entered quarantine, their condition is monitored daily with questionnaires on the development of the disease, according to the association. This also applies to players and employees whose family members are infected. This week, a 68-year-old massage therapist at the club had died of a heart attack after COVID-19 complications.

The start of the league in Brazil, originally planned for May 3, was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.

Antibody Search

Several researchers around the world report their first small successes in finding antibodies. Someday they should be used as a remedy for coronavirus disease. The only question is whether these antibodies will work as expected in the human body.

Stains are preparing to open

Many people in Switzerland are skeptical about the relaxation of restaurants or bars, which is not good news for the catering industry. The uncertainty is correspondingly large. Therefore, some restaurants hesitate to reopen next Monday, while others are building outdoor spaces and working on the concept of protection.