Coronavirus digest: Germany extends travel warning to two more Spanish regions
Europe
The German foreign ministry has extended its travel warning to two more regions in Spain due to rising infections.
Madrid and Basque Country have been added to the Spanish regions of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarra, as places where unnecessary trips should be avoided.
The ministry justified the decision by saying the two areas were experiencing “high numbers of infections again.”
Spain is again managing the worst infection rate in western Europe, with an average of 4,923 new daily cases reported over the past seven days.
That figure is higher than the average daily infection rate of Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined. Spain currently has 95 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, compared with 24 in France, 17 in Britain, 13 in Germany and eight in Italy.
Spain has confirmed nearly 327,000 cases and 28,581 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Read more: Mandatory coronavirus testing at airports in Germany off to smooth start
United States
US President Donald Trump announced that the US has reached an agreement with drug company Moderna to provide 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine candidate. The US has recorded over 5 million cases of the virus and nearly 165,000 deaths.
Read more: US President Trump signs order to cut prescription drug prices
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that routine, non-essential dental work should be delayed until COVID-19 transmission rates drop sufficiently. The WHO said check-ups, dental cleanings and preventive care could be postponed, and released guidance for dentists on how to minimize the risk of transmission.
“WHO advises that routine non-essential oral health care which usually includes oral health check-ups, dental cleanings and preventive care — be delayed until there has been sufficient reduction in COVID-19 transmission rates from community transmission to cluster cases,” the guidance says.
“The same applies to aesthetic dental treatments. However, urgent or emergency oral health care interventions that are vital for preserving a person’s oral functioning, managing severe pain or securing quality of life should be provided.”
Oceania
Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, is preparing to go into lockdown again following new mystery cases that ended a 102-day run without any new infections.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she was shutting down the city after four new cases of COVID-19 were detected within the same family, despite international borders being closed to foreigners and returning New Zealanders being put into mandatory quarantine.
The restrictions, which prevent people from going to work and school and gathering in groups of more than 10, will be in effect for three days, until Friday.
Read more: New Zealand sees new coronavirus community transmission
lc/aw (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-germany-extends-travel-warning-to-two-more-spanish-regions/a-54534592?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf