LIVE | Timmermans acknowledges EU mistakes in ordering vaccines | Inland

Follow the latest corona news in our live blog below.

08.48 – Australia is working on a travel bubble with Singapore

Australia is teaming up with Singapore to set up a travel bubble between the two countries starting in July to revitalize tourism. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced this on Sunday. “Now that the vaccine is rolled out globally, we will start more bubbles,” he says.

Australia had closed its borders since the start of the coronavirus outbreak to prevent any outbreaks in its territory. People who do not hold Australian citizenship were not allowed to enter the country, with a few exceptions.

Australia’s deal with Singapore should allow people to travel between the two countries after vaccination without being quarantined. It is also discussed whether a joint vaccination certificate can be obtained and whether travel for students or business people can already be resumed. It is still on the table whether global travelers who want to go to Australia should do so via Singapore and go in isolation there for two weeks.

Australia already has a similar arrangement with New Zealand. New Zealanders can travel to Australia without being quarantined. That bubble has already been interrupted a number of times due to a number of corona infections.

In Sydney, a quarantine employee has tested positive for the corona virus, this is the first local infection in 55 days. The man worked in two hotels where returning travelers are obliged to stay in isolation. The 47-year-old man had received the first of two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Officials are now contacting all known contacts and have issued a list of locations the guard has visited.

“I think the message of this is to everyone: don’t be complacent,” said Brad Hazzard, health minister in New South Wales. “We are in the middle of a pandemic that happens once every 100 years, we have to take it seriously.”

06.55 – Timmermans acknowledges mistakes made by the EU when ordering vaccines

The European Union has made mistakes in ordering corona vaccines. Vice-President Frans Timmermans of the European Commission admits this in the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

In the current situation you have to make sure that “all of Europe gets vaccines”, says the PvdA member. “It is true that mistakes have been made in ordering the vaccines, both in Brussels and in the Member States,” said Timmermans, who wants to take stock after the pandemic. “Then we can see what we have done wrong and what we have done right.” He does believe, however, that a European approach is also in favor of the wealthier member states.

The European Commission is strongly criticized for its hesitancy and strategic mistakes in the procurement of vaccines. In addition, there is also dissatisfaction among a number of Member States with the distribution of the vaccines.

At least 1.4 billion doses of the vaccines already authorized in the EU have now been ordered by Brussels. That should be more than enough for the approximately 450 million Europeans.

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