[ad_1]
A Berlin court suspended an order to close bars and restaurants from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. after finding that it was “ not obvious ” that such a move could help fight the coronavirus.
In ruling on a case brought by 11 restaurant owners, the administrative court noted that new infections in Germany currently come from private gatherings of family and friends, in community facilities, meat processing plants, religious gatherings or in connection with travel.
The closure of food and drink establishments was therefore a “disproportionate usurpation of freedom” of the industry, the court ruled.
It comes after Angela Merkel warned that Germany was headed for ‘disaster’ as regional leaders refused to approve her tough new coronavirus measures amid a surge in cases in Europe.
The German chancellor lost her temper with state leaders in late-night talks on Wednesday, telling them: “What we have agreed is not enough to prevent disaster.”
A Berlin court suspended an order to close bars and restaurants from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. after discovering that it was “ not obvious ” that such a move could help fight the coronavirus. In the photo: Bar in Berlin last night
Germany recorded the largest increase in daily cases for the second day in a row, recording 7,334 new infections. Friday – with 24 new deaths.
On Thursday it recorded 33 deaths, triple the number recorded a week ago, despite the fact that it remains lower than its European neighbors.
Merkel said: ‘If you ask me what worries me, it is the exponential rate of increase. We have to stop that. Otherwise this will not end well.
He noted that neighboring European countries were having to take “very drastic measures.”
The outspoken governor of Bavaria, Markus Soeder, also stressed the importance of acting now, arguing that “everything that comes later will cost more.”
“I will even go so far as to say that the prosperity of Europe is at stake,” he said.
City authorities had ordered the food and beverage sector to close early since last weekend as the number of infections mounted.
Under the rules agreed by Merkel together with the prime ministers of Germany’s 16 states, the measure was to go into effect once new infection figures passed the threshold of 35 per 100,000 people in seven days.
More drastic restrictions would be imposed by the time the number of daily cases rises to 50 per 100,000 people, but the restrictions met with strong opposition in the German capital.
It comes after Angela Merkel (pictured today) warned that Germany was headed for ‘disaster’ as regional leaders refused to approve her tough new measures against coronavirus amid a surge in cases in Europe.
Coronavirus cases have increased across Europe and are now above the peak of the first wave in most countries. The Netherlands and the Czech Republic have become the continent’s new infection hotspots, with lockdown-free Germany, Italy, and Sweden doing better.
Deaths from the virus have also started to rise, although they are still well below their first wave peak, as better tests uncover milder cases and better treatment improves survival rates.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland recorded their highest number of daily cases on Thursday.
Increased testing capabilities mean that it is impossible to compare these figures with those of the first wave in the spring, but the continent is seeing an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.
Italy recorded another 83 deaths, an increase of nearly double from Wednesday’s 43 deaths, though still far less than at the height of the pandemic, when a daily peak of more than 900 deaths was reached.
The number of cases also reached a new record at 8,804, as the southern region of Campania decided to close schools until the end of October.
Some 1,127 people tested positive in Campania on Thursday, the second worst affected region after Lombardy.
France has reported more than 100 deaths per day on average this week, the UK 110 and Spain 160.
In France, the positivity rate, the proportion of tests that test positive, is now 12.6 percent, while the number of intensive care patients has also increased.
The number of daily hospitalizations amounted to 1,741, 77 more than the previous day.
Health Minister Olivier Veran said France currently has about 5,800 beds in intensive care wards.
At the height of the pandemic in early April, more than 7,000 coronavirus patients were in intensive care. The number fell dramatically until the end of July, but has risen again since then.
Civil protection personnel prepare field hospital beds for potential COVID-19 patients in Turin, Italy, on Thursday
The Czech Republic has the highest infection rates in Europe, with comparable figures in the worst affected regions of Great Britain, France and Spain.
President Emmanuel Macron has put 18 million residents in nine regions, including Paris, under a curfew at 9 p.m. starting Saturday.
France will deploy 12,000 police officers to enforce the curfew and will spend an additional € 1 billion ($ 1.2 billion) to help businesses affected by the new restrictions.
“Our compatriots thought that this health crisis was behind us,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said. “But we cannot go back to living normally while the virus is here.”
This week the Netherlands has closed bars and restaurants, and the Czech Republic has closed schools.
The Czech Health Ministry confirmed more than 9,500 new virus cases on Wednesday, more than 900 more than the previous record for days.
The government announced Thursday that the military will install a virus hospital at the Prague exhibition center.
“We have to create additional capacity as soon as possible,” said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. ‘We do not have time. The forecast is not good. ‘
The governor of the German state of Bavaria said his region received a request to treat Czech patients with COVID-19.
Just as the Macron government addresses the resurgence of infections, French police on Thursday searched the homes of a former prime minister, current and former health ministers and other senior officials in an investigation into the government’s response to the pandemic.
It was sparked by dozens of complaints in recent months, particularly over a shortage of masks and other gear.
Aurelien Rousseau, director of the Paris region’s public health agency, said that nearly half of its intensive care beds are now occupied by coronavirus patients, with other hospital beds filling up quickly as well.
“It’s kind of a spring tide that affects everyone simultaneously,” Rousseau said. “We had a blind spot in our follow-up policies. It was the private sphere, the festive events.
Poland registered a record of almost 9,000 new cases on Thursday. Masks have been required outdoors since Saturday and strict limits have been placed on the size of gatherings.
Portugal took steps to restrict social gatherings to a maximum of five people, as it prepares to make masks mandatory outdoors and to impose fines on those who break the rules.
Even Sweden, which has taken a much-debated approach of keeping large sections of society open, raised the possibility of stricter restrictions.
“Too many are not following the rules,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. “If there is no correction here, we must take more drastic measures.” He did not elaborate.
