Coronavirus digest: Germany’s Merkel ‘regrets’ delay on new restrictions
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she would have preferred to implement stricter lockdown measures proposed by her federal government after talks with state leaders on Monday. The discussions ended in agreement that the issue would be revisited in one week’s time, with no interim changes. Merkel said that she was very worried about the spread of coronavirus in some places, including Berlin.
“Infection numbers aren’t growing exponentially anymore, but are still far too high. So we have to reduce contacts, reduce contacts, reduce contacts,” she said.
“I do regret that things sometimes move a little too slowly,” Merkel said at a business symposium organized by the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
Germany’s number of confirmed cases rose by 14,419 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 815,746. Additionally, the death toll rose by 267, bring the total number of fatalities to 12,814.
Read more: Coronavirus: Germany urges reduction in social contacts
Global
Governments should react with the same urgency to climate change as to the pandemic, the Red Cross (IFRC) warned. “It’s a very, very serious crisis the world is facing currently,” said IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain.
However, “climate change will have a more significant medium and long-term impact on the human life and on Earth … Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for climate change,” he said.
Europe
Austria has started a strict new lockdown. From Tuesday, people are only allowed to leave their homes to purchase groceries, to go to jobs deemed essential, to exercise or to help people who need assistance. All restaurants, shops, hair salons and other services have been ordered closed. The small Alpine nation has reported nearly 47,000 new cases over the last seven days.
Read more: Austria bans ‘apres-ski’ parties due to coronavirus fears
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said he could not give a date for the end of the nationwide lockdown. Wide-ranging restrictions were imposed on October 30, initially for a one-month period. Veran added that travel restrictions would not be lifted on December 1.
French health officials are also aiming to kick off a nationwide vaccination campaign in January, when it hopes the jabs for the virus will be approved. “We’re preparing a vaccination campaign to be ready the moment that a vaccine is approved by European and national health authorities so we can launch a vaccine immediately,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told France 2 television.
British airline easyJet has posted its first full-year loss in its 25-year history, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The airline reported Tuesday a pre-tax loss of £1.27 billion (€1.4 billion) ($1.7 billion) for the year through September as passenger numbers halved to just 48.1 million, while the summer saw the airline flying with just 38% of its planned capacity.
Read more: German aviation giant Lufthansa reports €2 billion loss in third quarter
Russia reported a record high of 442 new deaths on Tuesday, amid a nationwide medication shortage and overflowing morgues. Authorities also recorded 22,410 new infections over 24 hours, making Russia’s caseload the world’s fifth-highest in gross terms, with nearly 2 million registered cases.
Russian health authorities reported that a new mutation of the virus appears to be emerging in Siberia. “We are seeing certain changes in the protein,” said Anna Popova, head of the federal health and consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. “These substitutions identified in Siberia allow us to assume that this region is forming its own variant with certain mutations,” said Popova.
Read more: Russia: Volunteers are a driving force to help doctors
Asia-Pacific
India registered 29,613 new infections over 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in four months, according to the country’s health ministry. The nationwide total caseload stands at nearly 9 million, second only to the United States.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Coronavirus, pollution scale back Diwali celebrations
Millions of people across India celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Saturday, but the festivities were scaled down considerably as India reported nearly 8.8 million coronavirus infections, the world’s second-highest caseload. While most stayed away from large, ostentatious celebrations, people found ways to make their Diwali special.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Socially distanced celebrations
In large cities, authorities enforced strict protocols including mandatory face masks and social distancing in public places. Similar guidelines were tough to implement in smaller towns, where coronavirus fatigue seemed to complement the festive spirit.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Worsening air quality
As many cities in northern India saw a massive dip in air quality, state governments took strict steps to ensure that the celebrations do not add to the toxicity. Firecrackers are a big part of Diwali for many, but many states enforced blanket bans while others allowed it for limited timeframes. New Delhi saw multiple instances of people flouting the ban while turned to a cleaner celebration.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Auspicious start to the day
Varsha Khullar, a resident of India’s eastern city of Kolkata, woke up before sunrise to bathe and start the day with an elaborate prayer at her in-house temple. She bought fresh fruits and flowers to adorn the small temple, which many people set up in their homes. For devout Hindus, the “pooja” is the most crucial part of their Diwali celebration.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Prosperity for businesses amidst slowdown
Businessowners — both small and large — seek to usher in prosperity and wealth every Diwali, and the first step for that is blessing their place of work with another “pooja.” Sachin Mehra owns multiple shops across the northern city of Amritsar. He began his morning with prayers at all stores that are meant to bring growth, especially at a time when the economy suffers due to the pandemic.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Fresh flowers as household favorites
Many people could be seen on the streets as they finished their last-minute preparations for the festivities. Fresh flowers were high in demand, as these are used for the prayer ceremonies as well as decor. Traditionally, most households spend days cleaning up and getting themselves ready for Diwali.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Last-minute shopping
Earthen oil lamps, popularly known as “diyas,” form another big part of Diwali each year. The pandemic could not change that. Multiple street vendors took out their carts and loaded them with handmade decorative lights that are said to usher in light and positivity. Even as many people move to electric string lights, most houses have a few oil lamps lit in line with tradition.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Land of colorful gods and goddesses
In addition to fresh flowers and oil lamps, people also stepped out to buy brightly colored idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, like Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, or the elephant god Ganesha. There are also several regional Diwali traditions in India, which may involve the worship of other gods.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Long lines outside sweets shops
Food forms a big part of any celebration and Diwali is closely linked to boxes of sweets. Kanha Sweets, a local shop in Amritsar, had a long line of patrons waiting to get their hands on a box of traditional Indian sweets. Two doors down, another popular sweet shop had a queue running around the block.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Painstaking efforts with folk art
An important Diwali tradition involves making colorful designs outside homes. Better known as rangoli, colorful patterns are made using colored rice, colored sand or fresh flowers. Sabrina Sidhu and Manreet Khara spent the better part of their morning drawing intricate patterns at the entrance to their home. As the evening drew closer, they put in oil lamps and candles to illuminate their designs.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Festival of lights
Lighting up the house is an important ritual associated with Diwali. Even as most people avoided large-scale celebrations because of the pandemic, the lights were not dimmed. The day was spent decorating their homes with long strings of lights, oil lamps, and candles, all of which were lit up once darkness fell.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Choking on smoke
While some people swore off firecrackers completely, others used the government-designated time to light sparklers and other smaller crackers. In some cities, louder crackers could be heard until late in the night, well past the permitted times. Most got away with it citing holiday spirit, but local police in different parts of the country have registered some cases.
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India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air
Ray of light through darkness
Diwali in a pandemic is not easy, but, for many Indians, it signaled a return to relative normalcy. For Rahul, who ran a small cart with decorative supplies, these celebrations could make all the difference between feeding his family or going to sleep with an empty stomach. Even as people run home to celebrate, he stood by his stall till the final customer stopped by for some “rangoli” color.
South Korea is tightening social distancing rules in Seoul and some parts of eastern Gangwon province amid a coronavirus resurgence there. The announcement came as the country, which wasone of the first to effectively curb the spread of the virus, saw daily infections stay above 200 for four consecutive days.
Australian authorities started conducting mass tests, while around 4,000 people were confined to quarantine, in an effort to curb a new surge in the virus. Australia has recorded nearly 28,000 infections and 906 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Americas
United States President-elect Joe Biden warned that “more people may die if we don’t coordinate” a response to the pandemic.
Biden was addressing President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge the election results and cooperate with his transition team, saying that this could hamper his ability to hit the ground running after his inauguration in January. The US has recorded over 11.2 million cases and more than 247,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
lc/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-germany-s-merkel-regrets-delay-on-new-restrictions/a-55625829?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom