Corona globally: Australia eases quarantine requirements – Politics
For the first time since the start of the Corona pandemic, people in New Zealand and Australia will be able to travel between the two countries again starting April 19. Quarantine is not required. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the move on Tuesday as “the beginning of a new chapter”. It was very difficult for many people not to be able to see their friends and family in Australia for a year.
Both countries closed their borders to travelers in March 2020. With few exceptions, only their own citizens and residents were allowed to enter the country. The island of New Zealand is a model country in crisis due to its extremely strict procedures and meticulous contact tracing. In the country of 4.8 million, about 2,500 cases have been recorded so far, and 26 people have died in connection with Covid-19. For a long time the situation was normal again.
Australia is also very successful in dealing with the epidemic. So far, authorities below have confirmed about 29,000 cases and 909 deaths out of more than 25 million people.
India reported 100,000 new infections in one day
In India, more than 100,000 new cases of corona were recorded for the first time in one day. This comes from figures from India’s Ministry of Health on Monday. Affected particularly by the wealthier state of Maharashtra with the Mumbai Financial City, a weekend shutdown has been announced in the meantime. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned of a worrying rise in the number of cases over the weekend.
However, many people are living again as if there is no longer a pandemic. There are also large electoral rallies before general elections in several states. Hundreds of thousands of Indians flock to the sacred Ganges River to attend the Great Kumbh Mela pilgrimage festival – often without masks, photos taken at the site show. Virus mutations can also contribute to the increase. At the start of the year, there were sometimes fewer than 10,000 cases recorded in a single day, at the previous high last summer it was sometimes close to 100,000 cases per day.
India’s vaccination campaign is currently lagging behind the government’s goal of vaccinating 300 million of the country’s more than 1.3 billion people by summer. 79 million doses have been given since the vaccination began in January. India is also considered the pharmacy of the world. The country produces a lot of vaccines for export. But due to the rapidly increasing number of cases in the country, this is now restricted. This also affects the United Nations’ Covax initiative, which is supposed to provide poor countries with vaccinations.
Rises in Scotland
In Scotland, after a month-long lockdown, hairdressers welcomed their first clients again on Easter. In addition, garden centers and some other stores were allowed to reopen. According to the Palestinian News Agency, a barber opened near Glasgow at 6 a.m. – 96 appointments were set for the first day in his salon with four employees. In addition, on-site teaching is again permitted at universities and youth can participate in outdoor sports.
There should be more easing in England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted to formally sign the planned openings on April 12 on Monday: then allow nonessential stores and outdoor restaurants to reopen. However, private internal meetings and trips abroad will remain banned until at least mid-May.
On Easter weekend, many illegal parties are broken up by police in England. Police said about 100 revelers gathered in Essex County. According to the Palestinian News Agency, police in the West Midlands also broke up a major event on Easter Monday night and arrested some of those involved. Police prevented a planned rave in Kent in southern England by confiscating equipment in advance and sending the organizers home.
The infection situation in Great Britain has decreased dramatically in recent weeks thanks to a strict lockdown and a well-developed vaccination campaign: the recent seven-day infection rate was around 48 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Corona exit tests in the Braunau region of Austria
A negative Corona test has been required since Monday to leave the Braunau region in Austria. According to the state of Upper Austria, the lifetime of the antigen test should not be more than 2 days and the PCR test should not exceed 72 hours. The police – with the support of the armed forces – will focus on control. The measures will initially be in place until April 11, after which the situation will be reassessed.
There are exceptions for schoolchildren, individual career groups, court dates and for those who travel non-stop. However, anyone moving to the area must show a valid negative certificate upon leaving the country. The seven-day infection rate in the area on the Bavarian border was above the 400 mark last week.
Register here for our free newsletter for Austria.
China records the largest daily increase in new infections in two months
Within 24 hours, China reported the largest increase in new coronavirus infections in more than two months. The National Health Commission said 32 more confirmed cases had occurred, 15 of them in Yunnan Province, which could be traced back to a group in the city of Ruweli, on the border with Myanmar. The number of new asymptomatic cases that China does not classify as confirmed cases is 18. According to official figures, the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China increased to 90,305, while the number of deaths remained unchanged at 4,636.
The Netherlands is classified as a high-incidence region
Due to the particularly high number of corona infections in the Netherlands, the federal government classifies the neighboring country as a high-infection region after Easter. Anyone entering Germany from there on Tuesday should be able to show a negative coronavirus test upon entry, as announced by the Robert Koch Institute on Sunday. The ten-day quarantine requirement with the option to free yourself with a second test after five days remains unchanged. There are exceptions for passengers.
After the Czech Republic, Poland and France, the Netherlands, which borders North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, is the fourth neighboring country to be classified as a region with a high prevalence. Croatia has also been a country with a high rate since Easter Saturday. Areas with more than 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days are considered high-infection regions.
Of the 26 EU partner countries in Germany, 13 including the Netherlands were classified as high-incidence areas and 13 wholly or partly hazardous areas as of Tuesday. Sit Easter
Turkey reported a record number of new infections
Turkey sets a new record for the number of new infections. The Ministry of Health announced that 44,756 cases had been added during the past 24 hours. This is the highest value since the start of the epidemic after the previous record of 42,308 the day before.
The European Union accepts the dispute over the distribution of an additional vaccine
In the bitter dispute over the distribution of additional vaccines for Corona, the 27 European Union countries agreed on Thursday. Biontech’s first ten million vaccines will be distributed according to population size. In addition, 19 member states of the European Union are supporting another five countries in urgent need of vaccines. Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia together are supposed to receive an additional 2.85 million boxes in the second quarter of what they are normally entitled to through the quota, the Portuguese presidency of the European Union announced Thursday evening.
Germany is also participating and, according to this model, is giving up about 500,000 vaccine doses in favor of the five states. On the other hand, Austria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic did not want to give up anything. A European Union diplomat said: “It is an important signal in the Corona crisis that the vast majority of the European Union is showing solidarity with countries particularly affected by the vaccine shortage.” “It is regrettable that Austria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are leaving and rejecting this gesture of solidarity,” he added.
Sebastian Kurz explained in Vienna that Austria is now receiving 199,000 doses of vaccine instead of 139,000, and this was a “strong result”. The Austrian chancellor has been complaining for weeks about the uneven distribution of vaccines among the 27 members. This is why last week’s EU summit directed European Union ambassadors to split early deliveries of 10 million Biontech / Pfizer cans in the second quarter in a way that fills the holes.
Basically: Each of the 27 states is entitled to a share according to population size. If a country does not exhaust this, other EU countries can purchase these quantities. Some governments are especially betting on Astrazeneca and are now falling behind with delivery problems. Austria asked for less from Johnson & Johnson and therefore fears gaps.
Subscribe to the SZ Austria newsletter now.
São Paulo has exhumed old graves for lack of space for new Covid-19 deaths
In Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, ancient cemeteries are now being emptied to make way for the increasing number of COVID-19 deaths. The community secretary in charge of funerals said Thursday that the city council is setting a daily record of the number of burials this week. Transfer of mortal remains is standard for grave operations, but it is now given a new urgency as Brazil experiences the worst coronavirus wave since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health reported 3,769 new deaths on Thursday. Then Bolivia announced that it would close its borders with Brazil due to concerns about a new type of disease. Chile has already closed its borders to all foreigners. “What is happening in Brazil is a global threat,” said Jose Miguel Bernoche, secretary of the National Medical Association of Chile.
Countries across the region are concerned that Brazil is fertile ground for a new variant of the virus as infections soar and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has refused to endorse masks and lockdowns. After expressing doubts about vaccinations, Bolsonaro said Thursday that he will not choose to get vaccinated until all Brazilians have been vaccinated. Brazil has been slow to launch its vaccination campaign. Only about seven percent of the population received the first vaccine. The outbreak in Brazil is the second deadliest disease in the world after the United States.