April 19, 2020 – 2:12 p.m.
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In the video: these are the new rules
Germany has been in a so-called “lockdown” for weeks. While there are initial cautious steps “back”, the fight against the virus continues all over the world. In the live ticker you will find all important information and developments.
Here you will find an overview of the federal states’ measures and everything from A to Z you need to know about the corona virus.
TVNOW documentary: Zero Hour – Race with the Virus
How do we defeat Corona? See the TVNOW document: “Zero Hour – Race with the Corona Virus” (part 2)
+++ LIVE-TICKER +++
2:12 p.m. – Laschet: “Some businesses will no longer be there”
According to Armin Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, the restrictions on public life in his state alone have caused “gigantic” damage to the economy. “I warn against the illusion that the state can compensate for this with rescue parachutes,” says the CDU politician on Deutschlandfunk. “Some companies will no longer be there,” he says, referring to the time after the virus crisis.
11:32 am – Spain reports lower increase in deaths
The Spanish Ministry of Health reports an increase in deaths from 410 to 565 on Saturday to a total of 20,453. The number of coronavirus infections was 195,944 after 191,726 the previous day.
10:32 am – New infections rise to a record number in Russia
The Russian authorities reported a total increase in new infections from 6,060 the previous day to 42,853 cases. This is the biggest growth so far in Russia.
10:15 am – British Minister: Not yet talking about easing
The UK government is not yet considering easing corona virus restrictions. “The facts and advice at the moment clearly show that we should not think about easing restrictions yet,” Cabinet Minister Michael Gove told Sky News. The high proportion of deaths is worrying.
07:17 – 2,458 new corona infections in Germany, 184 more dead
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports a total of 139,897 infections with the coronavirus, an increase of 2,458 on the previous day. A further 184 deaths have been reported, a total of 4,294 people have died so far. However, cases were reported with a time delay at the weekend. According to the RKI website, around 88,000 people have recovered, around 2,700 more than the previous day.
According to the current status report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the infection rate has increased slightly compared to the previous day. The scientists estimate the so-called reproductive rate to be 0.8 – previously it had been 0.7 for two days. This means that an infected person is currently passing the virus on to 0.8 other people on average.
RKI boss Lothar Wieler had set the goal of reducing the rate to a value below 1. Chancellor Angela Merkel also said that the infection rate should be used as an important criterion for possible easing.
02:23 – Altmaier rejects the demand for tax increases
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) rejects calls for tax increases. “Occasional discussions about tax increases for certain people, groups or industries are wrong and harmful,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag”. “We also have to be economical, but nobody should have to pay higher taxes.” More tax revenues would not be achieved through tax increases, but above all through stronger growth and investments. Altmaier is optimistic that the German economy can emerge stronger from the Corona crisis. “Germany can and should be stronger and better in three years at the latest than before the crisis.”
01:15 am: Altmaier – need up to 12 billion respirators every year
The German government expects the corona crisis to require up to twelve billion respirators a year. “If we want to enable everyone in Germany to work, shop and drive a bus with a face mask, we need between eight and twelve billion masks a year,” said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier (CDU) of the “Bild am Sonntag”. The aim is to be able to produce millions of surgical masks and mouthguards in Germany in the second half of summer. He promises investment grants and purchase guarantees.
12:52 a.m. – Trump warns China of possible consequences from the Corona outbreak
US President Donald Trump warns China of the consequences if it turns out that the People’s Republic is responsible for the outbreak of the corona virus. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake,” Trump said at his daily corona virus press conference. “But if you were knowingly responsible for it, there should certainly be consequences.” Trump and his advisers have often criticized China for not being transparent enough when the virus broke out in Wuhan. He again questions the number of deaths in China. China revised this up significantly on Friday.
+++ messages from Saturday +++
Johns Hopkins University: Current numbers of corona infected worldwide
| country | Infected | dead |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 2,297,712 | 158.202 |
| USA | 716.883 | 37,659 |
| Spain | 191.726 | 20,043 |
| Italy | 175,925 | 23,227 |
| France | 149.146 | 19,345 |
| Germany | 142,872 | 4,426 |
| Great Britain | 115,300 | 15,497 |
| China | 83,787 | 4,636 |
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Source: Johns Hopkins University
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