Chronology of Coronavirus – The most important messages and developments from April 28, 2020

In the video: Corona infection rate increases again

The infection rate with the new type of corona virus has risen again in Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute. Every infected person now infects another person, the so-called reproductive rate is 1.0. How the loosening of the corona measures will affect is still unclear. In our daily Live ticker you will receive all important information and developments.

Here you will find an overview of the changed measures of the federal states and everything from A to Z you need to know about the corona virus.

TVNOW documentary: What we learn from the crisis

What lessons can we learn from the biggest postwar crisis so far? We spoke to experts. Was the state too inconsistent? Did the schools close too quickly? What to do about the hamster chaos? And what’s the real reason thousands of vacationers are stranded around the world? See the TVNOW documentary: “What we learn from the crisis”.

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11:40 p.m. – US Vice President Pence waives mask when visiting clinic

US Vice President Mike Pence did not wear a respirator despite a requirement when visiting a corona crisis clinic. Videos showed Pence standing on the bed of a patient in the Rochester, Minnesota hospital on Tuesday. Everyone around him had masks covered his nose and mouth. The Mayo Clinic wrote on Twitter that Pence had been informed about the mask wear policy before arriving. A few minutes after the tweet was published, it was deleted.

Since mid-April, the clinic has required all patients and visitors to wear a respirator to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

11:00 p.m. – Current figures from Germany and the world

According to Johns Hopkins University, 117,400 people have recovered in Germany. According to this, fewer than 40,000 people are currently infected with the corona virus. Meanwhile, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is calling for ongoing discipline. Germany has been able to keep the virus at bay very successfully, unlike other countries. “We want to defend this success,” said RKI President Lothar Wieler. According to the RKI, the number of the contagion rate, which is considered important, has dropped again. With data as of April 28 at midnight, the number of reproductions is estimated at 0.9, the institute announced.

10:33 pm – Possibly a breakthrough when returning to professional football

German professional football apparently has passed another hurdle on the way to the hoped-for league restart. According to information from the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland”, the Federal Ministry of Labor gives its consent to the corresponding concept of the German Football League (DFL) in matters of occupational safety.

“The occupational safety of the players, coaches and coaches can be largely ensured if the concept is fully implemented,” says the quote from an email from State Secretary Björn Böhning (SPD) to Chancellor-General Helge Braun (CDU). The DFL paper is “useful, reduces risks and is therefore acceptable under occupational health and safety law”.

However, his ministry is only responsible for examining these occupational safety standards. “I am sure you agree that when you decide to restart the game, you have to consider other general issues of proportionality, especially pandemic, health and sports issues,” wrote Böhning.

Game operations have been suspended since mid-March. The DFL is hoping for a permit to restart without a spectator in mid-May.

9:45 p.m. – Ex-magician Roy Horn falls ill with Corona

Shock for the former German magician duo Siegfried & Roy. The 75 year old Roy Horn has Coronaas his spokesman Dave Kirvin now confirmed. “Roy Horn tested positive for the virus. He is currently responding well to treatment,” said Kirvin. The two magicians performed very successfully in Las Vergas for years until Horn was attacked by his tiger “Montecore” during the show in 2003 and seriously injured.

9:27 pm – Fear of Corona: Nine dead in prison riots in Peru

Nine prisoners were killed in violent riots in a prison in Peru. Around 60 law enforcement officers and five police officers and two prisoners were injured in the riots, the prison administration in the South American country said on Tuesday. The security forces regained control of the detention center near the capital, Lima, after a few hours. The protests in the prison were directed against the inadequate protective measures against the spread of the new type of corona virus.

9:19 p.m. – More than a million corona infections in the United States

In the United States, John Hopkins University has reported more than a million infections with the novel virus since the corona pandemic began. That came out on Tuesday from the data of the university in Baltimore. According to this, more than 57,000 people have already died after being infected with the corona virus.

In the US state of New York, which has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, the number of new hospital admissions has meanwhile fallen by more than 70 percent. On Monday, for the first time in more than a month, less than 1,000 people were admitted in a day, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday. For example, on April 7, there were more than 3,000.

9:11 pm – Fewer and fewer hospital and intensive care cases in France

The number of Covid 19 patients in French hospitals and intensive care units continues to fall. According to data from the Ministry of Health, this has continued for two weeks. The number of new deaths rose by 367 to 23,660, that of known new infections by 1520 to 129,859.

9:01 p.m. – Judges in Saarland overturn exit restrictions

In Saarland, the exit restrictions imposed by the corona pandemic must be relaxed immediately after a decision by the Constitutional Court. The constitutional judges ruled on Tuesday that “there are currently no reliable reasons for the uninterrupted continuation of the strict Saarland regulation of the ban on leaving the apartment.” This means that family encounters and spending time outdoors while maintaining the necessary distances and restrictions on contacts are now possible again.

8:29 pm – State of emergency in the Czech Republic extended

Contrary to previous announcements, the Czech Republic has renewed the state of emergency declared due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is now valid until May 17th. 54 parliamentarians voted in favor of it on Tuesday evening, against 24. The state of emergency allows the government, among other things, to maintain the extensive entry ban for foreigners for the time being and to procure medical goods without tendering.

The government in Prague had recently eased its measures to contain the pandemic. The general exit restrictions were lifted and most shops were reopened. In addition, a public mouthguard obligation and a ban on meetings with more than ten people apply.

8:12 p.m. – Family Minister for day care re-entry in four phases

The family ministers of the federal and state governments recommend a “careful” return to day care for children in four stages in the Corona crisis. This was announced by the Ministry of Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey (SPD) on Tuesday evening. The joint decision does not specify a specific date for the possible resumption of daycare center operations. The four phases therefore include current emergency care, extended emergency care, limited regular operation and the return to normal operation.

The decision is expected to feed into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s (CDU) consultations with the Prime Minister this Thursday. Ultimately, the decision lies with the individual federal states. The primary goal remains unchanged, slowing the spread of the coronavirus and interrupting chains of infection, the message said.

8:05 p.m. – Twelve new corona cases in Rellingen retirement home

In an old people’s home in Rellingen in Schleswig-Holstein, the number of people infected with corona has risen sharply. Since Friday, twelve other residents have tested positive for the new virus, as district spokesman Oliver Carstens announced on Wednesday.

According to the district press office, a total of three old people’s homes are affected by coronavirus infections. Since the first cases in a Tornesch facility became known at the end of March, 80 residents of the old people’s home and 37 nursing staff have been tested in the district today. Of the 29 corona deaths, only three do not originate from one of the three homes.

7:55 p.m. – Italy: number of infected people rises to over 200,000

The number of people infected with the corona virus has risen to more than 200,000 in Italy. In total, 201,505 people in the country were infected with the virus until Tuesday, according to civil protection. The number of deaths rose by 382 to a total of 27,359. However, the number of patients in the intensive care unit and in the hospital, which continues to decrease, is particularly important for the political decisions on the exit restrictions. The number of currently positive cases – that is, the number from which the dead and recovered are excluded – continued to fall.

7:42 p.m. – More tests and Corona bonus for caregivers

The Federal Cabinet plans to launch further aid measures tomorrow to alleviate the consequences of the corona epidemic. A bill by Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) provides, among other things, for tests to be expanded again in order to better protect nursing staff and those in need. In addition, there should be more extensive reporting requirements for doctors and laboratories. In the future, they should also state negative test results and recovered cases. A financing plan for the targeted Corona bonus for caregivers of up to 1,500 euros is also to be decided.

7:27 pm – Violent indignation after interview – Tübingen OB in criticism

The mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, apologized for his choice of words in the face of outrage at comments about dealing with corona patients. On Sat.1 breakfast television, Palmer had previously asked for the corona requirements to be relaxed and chosen drastic words: “I’ll tell you very brutally: in Germany we may save people who would be dead in six months anyway,” he said . There must be different security measures for young and old. “I would never deny the right to life to older or sick people,” the Greens politician told the German Press Agency on Tuesday evening. If he “expressed himself misleadingly or briskly”, he was sorry.

7:18 p.m. – Putin commits population “on grueling phase”

Russia is facing a “new and grueling phase in the fight against the corona pandemic,” President Vladimir Putin said in a television address today.

Although the daily increase in cases has stabilized, it is still too early to give the all-clear. “The situation is still very serious,” said Putin. “The climax is not behind us,” the President continued. Russia wants to extend the current corona measures until May 11. After that, the country could gradually loosen the restrictions. In his speech, Putin admitted that there were currently bottlenecks in medical equipment in Russia and promised to increase production rates.

6:58 p.m. – Police officer in North Rhine-Westphalia died of corona infection

A 54-year-old police officer from Paderborn has died of a corona infection. This was confirmed by the district police authority and a spokesman for the Interior Ministry on Tuesday of the German Press Agency. According to the Interior Ministry, it is the first police death in North Rhine-Westphalia related to Covid-19. The “Neue Westfälische” had previously reported.

As the Ministry spokesman said, the man passed away last Thursday. Interior Minister Reul condoled his family. “The entire police family is in deep grief,” said the spokesman. The official had probably not been infected on duty.

5:05 p.m. – Discounter wants to sell disposable masks

From Thursday, LIDL wants to sell disposable masks in all branches and in a 50-pack. However, only one pack is issued per purchase and customer while stocks last. Lidl wants to offer the storage packaging for 33 euros. That is a cost price, the company said.

4:23 p.m. – Court: Mask requirement does not violate personal rights

In the opinion of the Hamburg Administrative Court, the obligation to wear a mask in shops since Monday does not violate personal rights. The court ruled that the obligation to wear a mouth-and-nose cover was suitable for the protection of life and health.

A court spokesman said Tuesday that two individuals had filed suit against the measure to protect against corona infections. The court held that the general right of personality under Article 19, 2 of the Basic Law would not be affected by the temporal and spatial limitation of the mask requirement.

4:03 pm – Hay fever plagued by Corona at greater risk?

Spring starts earlier every year – and with it the critical time for people with pollen allergies. In addition to the usual torture with a runny nose, itchy eyes and scratchy throat, many people are worried about one thing this season: the corona virus. Are allergy sufferers at greater risk from SARS-CoV-2? An allergist has the reassuring answer.

4:00 p.m. – Luxembourg wants to test all citizens on Corona

In the fight against the coronavirus, Luxembourg is starting mass Covid 19 tests this week. Research minister Claude Meisch said on Tuesday in Luxembourg that the voluntary tests of the 600,000 inhabitants and the cross-border commuters from Germany, France and Belgium should accompany the relaxation of existing contact restrictions. Around 8,500 students and teachers should be tested before school resumes on May 4th. After that, you want to do at least 20,000 tests a day. “The goal is that the entire population can be tested, sometimes several times,” said Meisch.

3:53 p.m. – Hesse again allows services and visits to old people’s homes

Hesse will once again allow services and funeral ceremonies from 1 May. This is announced by Prime Minister Volker Bouffier. From May 4, nursing homes and old people’s homes will again have the right to receive shorter visits to a limited extent. At the same time, each institution must develop an individual protection concept, says the CDU politician.

3:44 pm – Merkel for climate-friendly economic stimulus programs

Chancellor Angela Merkel advocates climate-friendly economic stimulus programs in the Corona crisis. Despite tight budgets in the crisis, climate protection must always be in view, said Merkel at the “Petersberg Climate Dialogue”. It is also behind the goal of the EU Commission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 55 percent by 2030 below the 1990 level. The financial market must provide cheap capital for climate-friendly investments.

2:55 pm – Spahn praises medical research in Germany

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) visited Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) at Hanover University Hospital (MHH). He praised medical research in Germany. “We will have to live with the virus until we have the virus under control with a vaccine,” said Jens Spahn after visiting the MHH.

2:50 p.m. – Corona restrictions in Portugal relaxed from 3 May

Portugal announces a relaxation of the strict restrictions from May 3rd. However, this will only happen slowly and in small steps, says President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The end of the national emergency, which was declared on March 18, does not mean the end of the virus outbreak, he warns.

1:55 p.m. – Normal school operations are not possible before summer holidays

No quick return to normal in school: “It will no longer be possible to have regular classes before the summer holidays, “says Stefanie Hubig, Minister of Education Minister of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. It had been agreed by the state ministers, however, that all pupils should return to the schools “weekly or daily” before the summer holidays and receive face-to-face classes there.

1:16 p.m. – Spahn: Corona app will be usable quickly

According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, the planned Corona app for mobile phones to track the contacts of people infected with Corona should be used “as quickly as possible”. Data protection and data security would have to be maintained. The data would be stored decentrally on the cell phone. The federal government had previously announced that the Corona app would be developed by Deutsche Telekom and SAP and brought to market maturity.

In addition, the Federal Minister of Health wants to make a nursing premium for nursing staff of up to 1,500 euros possible.

1:10 p.m. – Federal states want common regulation for controversial 800-square meter limit

According to Baden-Württemberg’s Winfried Kretschmann, the federal states are striving for a common regulation for the controversial 800-square meter limit for opening retail stores. The premier conference planned this week will deal with the consequences of the latest court rulings. “We will discuss whether we will continue to round off on Thursday,” said Kretschmann after a meeting with the state government.

12:45 p.m. – Lufthansa does not rule out protective shield procedures

According to an insider, Lufthansa is considering restructuring itself if the negotiations on state aid for a protective shield procedure fail. The airline is considering this as an alternative if the conditions in a bailout package restrict it too much in competitiveness, a person familiar with Lufthansa’s considerations told Reuters on Tuesday. Talks with the federal government about a billion dollar financing package are ongoing; the future influence of the state is particularly controversial.

The protective shield procedure, a kind of preliminary stage to the bankruptcy procedure, is intended to enable companies to restructure themselves in good time before they run out of money. The condition for this is that they are not yet insolvent. However, the protective shield procedure often leads to regular insolvency after three months. The shareholders would then probably go away empty-handed.

12:00 p.m. – Bahn extends goodwill rule for ticket exchange

If you have planned a train journey over the coming long weekend and do not want to start, you can exchange your ticket for a voucher. This applies to long-distance tickets of Deutsche Bahn with a travel date up to May 4th, which were bought by March 13th, as the train informed the German press agency on request. The vouchers are available online and are valid for three years. The railways are extending a corresponding goodwill arrangement that previously applied to journeys up to April 30. For long-distance journeys after May 4, the following now applies: Customers can use their tickets flexibly until October 31 – provided they were bought before March 13. Previously, the railways accepted these tickets by June 30th. The regulation also applies to saver and super saver tickets.

11:10 am – ECB: No “increased” risk of infection from euro bills

Europe’s monetary authorities do not see an increased risk of infection from banknotes with the novel corona virus. Results from laboratories with which the European Central Bank (ECB) works indicated “that 10 to 100 times as many viruses survive on surfaces such as plastic as on our banknotes in the first few hours,” wrote ECB Director Fabio Panetta in an article that has been published in several European newspapers, including the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.

Other analyzes show that porous surfaces of cotton banknotes transmit the virus much more poorly than smooth surfaces such as plastic. “Compared to other surfaces that people come into contact with on a daily basis, banknotes do not pose an increased risk of infection overall,” wrote Panetta. According to Panetta, the demand for cash increased significantly at the beginning of the Corona crisis. The value of the additional banknotes in circulation each week rose rapidly in mid-March and almost reached its historic high of 19 billion euros.

10:00 am – RKI press conference: “We want to defend this success.”

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) held a press conference on Tuesday approved, that the number of reproductions is 1. The corona numbers continue to rise. The number of deaths and deceased remains high, especially because of the outbreaks in retirement or nursing homes. The average age of the deceased was 81. RKI boss Lothar Wieler appeals to maintain success in Germany: “We owe this primarily to the employees of the health department and to the measures that we took early on. We do not want the number of cases to increase!”.

It was important to continue to stay at home as far as possible, to keep to the contact restrictions, to keep a distance of at least one and a half meters and where it was difficult to wear a nose and mouth protection. Unlike other countries, Germany has so far been able to successfully keep the spread at bay. “We want to defend this success.”

The RKI chief gave the population a warning: “Droplets fly particularly far when singing.”

9:40 am – Austria removes exit restrictions – only minimum distance

In view of the favorable developments in the corona crisis, Austria is lifting the exit restrictions after almost seven weeks. This was announced by Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) in Vienna on Tuesday.

Since mid-March the Austrians were only allowed to leave the house if there was good reason. This included essential errands. However, outdoor exercise – walks and cycling, for example – was also allowed from the start. The exit restrictions were limited until the end of April and now expire on April 30.

At the beginning of May, according to the exit schedule, all shops and many service providers such as hairdressers can reopen. Local and restaurants are to follow in mid-May. Hotels and other accommodation facilities may reopen on May 29th.

In Austria, the number of new infections with the corona virus has been in the double-digit range for days. The reproductive factor – the number of people infected by an infected person – is 0.59, which is lower than ever. At the same time, the capacities for Covid 19 patients in the clinics are far from being fully utilized.

9:05 am – German companies expect massive layoffs

Germany’s companies are preparing for layoffs in the Corona crisis. This was the result of the Ifo Institute’s monthly survey of around 9,000 companies published on Tuesday on their employment planning for the next three months. The Ifo employment barometer determined from this fell in April to 86.3 points to a historical low. The economic research institute explained that the decline had never been so strong. Unemployment in Germany will rise sharply.

8:40 a.m. – hiking boom in Germany

Hiking in Germany could be one of the few vacation opportunities this year in the age of the corona pandemic with its travel restrictions. Experts therefore expect a real hiking boom in the coming months. The Federal Competence Center for Tourism assumes that domestic tourism will recover significantly earlier than international travel. But can forest and paths cope with the at least apparent hiking boom? The experts assume that. The hiking association is certain that there are enough paths and space in Germany even in Corona times so that everyone can keep a safe distance.

7:30 a.m. – This is how hospitals plan to return to normal operations

The German Hospital Society has drawn up a 10-point plan of how the clinics envisage a return to restricted regular operations. The document is available to the “Rheinische Post”.

As the newspaper reports, the clinics expect to have to care for Covid 19 patients “well into the year 2021”. It continues to apply “the requirement to keep 20 percent of their intensive care beds with ventilation available,” says the paper. Hospitals must also be able to “organize additional treatment capacity for Covid-19 patients within 72 hours if the rate of infection replication requires it”. This involves a further 20 percent of the capacities. Rehabilitation clinics, on the other hand, are supposed to resume normal operations without restrictions.

Health Minister Jens Span also wants the clinics to resume regular operations from Friday onwards.

07:00 a.m. – Current figures from Germany and the world

The number of people demonstrably infected with the corona virus continues to rise in Germany. Loud John Hopkins University 158,758 people have been infected in this country. 6,126 died from Covid 19 disease. The Robert Koch Institute currently estimates the so-called reproduction rate at a value of 1.0. This means that statistically an infected person infects another person.

4:59 AM – Australia is relaxing its corona virus restrictions

In Australia, some states are slowly loosening corona virus restrictions. In the state of New South Wales (NSW), which records almost half of the approximately 6,700 cases of COVID-19 in Australia, up to two adults can visit another person at home from Friday. Bondi Beach and two neighboring beaches in Sydney are again open to residents. The rate of local new infections had slowed to just under one percent a day, a month ago it was 25 percent. 84 deaths related to the virus have been confirmed nationwide.

4:09 a.m. – Chief of the Japanese Medical Association questions Olympia 2021

The head of the Japanese Medical Association questions the 2021 Olympic Games without a vaccine. Yoshitake Yokokura said it will be a challenge for Tokyo to host the Olympic Games next year if there is no effective vaccine against the corona virus. “I am not saying that Japan should or should not host the Olympic Games, but that it would be difficult to do,” said Yokokura.

3:14 a.m. – 6 new corona cases in China

China reports six new cases of coronavirus, compared to three the previous day. The National Health Commission states that all new cases came from immigrants. The total number of COVID-19 infections thus increases to 82,836, according to official data. The total number of deaths on mainland China by COVID-19 remains unchanged at 4633.

00:55 – Individual training planned for US basketball professionals

The NBA allows its teams to take a first small step back to normal in the corona crisis. Along with the easing of regulations in some US states, basketball professionals will be able to use their club facilities for training again in the future – but at the earliest from May 8th, on a voluntary basis and without the presence of coaches. In addition, there can never be more than four players at the same time and cooperation between the pros is prohibited. According to the notification, it is also a requirement that the local authorities allow this form of individual training.

For teams whose players cannot yet use this option due to the situation in the respective cities, the league wants to consider alternatives. The season in the world’s strongest basketball league has been interrupted since March 11th.

00:47 – Boeing starts again with Dreamliner production

The ailing US aviation group Boeing plans to restart production of its long-haul jet 787 “Dreamliner”, which was stopped due to the corona crisis. Operations at the plants in the state of South Carolina will start again next weekend, the company said in North Charleston. Boeing temporarily suspended production due to the pandemic. Various security measures have now been implemented, the company said. The announcement was well received by investors, and the stock turned positive after the exchange. Last week, Boeing had started gradually ramping up production at its factories in the Puget Sound region near Seattle, Washington. However, due to a production stop for the 737 Max that has been in effect since January and is banned worldwide after two plane crashes, the production of the Airbus arch rival will initially remain severely restricted.

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