Germany to Open Covid Vaccinations to All Adults by June Bloomberg 2 hrs ago Arne Delfs and Iain Rogers
(Bloomberg) Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government aims to open Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults by early June, dropping Germany’s rules that regulated who’s at the front of the queue.
The country also intends to allow people who have been fully immunized or who have recovered from the disease privileges such as going shopping and visiting hairdressers without needing negative coronavirus tests, Merkel said after talks with regional leaders on Monday. Officials didn’t agree though on firm details.
After weeks of tension over pandemic policy and a sputtering vaccine campaign, the German chancellor was under pressure to lay out a path toward more normality after a controversial lockdown law went into effect over the weekend. The legislation, which sparked protests, triggered curfews and tougher restrictions across most of the country.
Merkel Pleads for More Control to Break Third Pandemic Wave Bloomberg 2 hrs ago Arne Delfs
(Bloomberg) Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her bid to take greater control over Germany’s coronavirus restrictions to break a “very serious” wave of infections that’s putting immense pressure on hospitals.
Speaking to the lower house of parliament in Berlin on Friday, Merkel pushed back against opposition to a law that would give the federal government the authority to impose local restrictions such as nighttime curfews and closing schools and non-essential stores.
“There is no way around it: We need to slow down the third wave of the pandemic and stop the rapid growth of infections,” Merkel said during a speech, which was interrupted several times by opposition lawmakers. “The situation is serious and in fact very serious. The third wave of the pandemic has a tight grip on our country.”
Merkel Cabinet Approves Lockdown Law to Tackle Surging Cases msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Germany Doubles Pace of Covid-19 Shots Amid Surge in Cases Bloomberg 2 hrs ago Tim Loh and Iain Rogers
(Bloomberg) Germany has doubled its pace of Covid-19 vaccinations after a sluggish start, as it battles a third wave of the virus that threatens to overwhelm medical facilities.
The country administered about 720,000 doses on Thursday, a fourth straight daily record, thanks to a surge in vaccinations in doctors’ offices. That pace should continue for most of April as a network of some 35,000 general practitioners receive 1 million doses more in each of the next two weeks and even more after that.