For the second day in a row, the USA reported a record number of new corona cases. On Thursday (local time) 121,888 new infections were reported, according to data from the University of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Only the day before, with 102,831 cases, the mark of 100,000 newly registered infections within one day had been exceeded for the first time. On Thursday, according to the figures, 1,210 deaths were added in connection with the virus.
In total, more than 9.6 million people in the USA with its 330 million inhabitants have become infected with the coronavirus. Nearly 235,000 people died – more than in any other country in the world.
In Germany, more than 20,000 new infections with the coronavirus were registered within a single day for the first time. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), health authorities in Germany have reported 21,506 new corona infections within 24 hours. This is the result of information provided by the RKI on Friday. On Friday a week ago, the number of reported new infections was 18,681.
The number of deaths related to the virus rose by 166 to a total of 11,096 by Friday, the highest increase since the beginning of May. In the previous three days, the number had already been well over 100. The highest total was reached in mid-April with 315 reported deaths within one day.
In the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Health recorded 13,231 new corona infections within 24 hours. A total of 391,945 cases of infection have thus been recorded. The number of people who died with or from the corona virus rose by 197 to 4,330. The country, which has a population of 10.7 million, has recorded the highest number of deaths in Europe in the past two weeks in terms of population. The Czech Republic also has one of the highest infection rates in Europe. A lockdown has been in effect in the country since 22 October. Under the state of emergency, there are extensive curfews and a night-time curfew.
Slovenia has again extended the lockdown due to the continuing poor epidemiological situation. Some of the students will not return to school next week after a two-week fall vacation, and distance learning will be available for them as well, the government decided. It is unclear how long the restrictions will continue. Prime Minister Janez Jansa hinted that the restrictions could be in force for at least another month. In Slovenia, the daily number of new infections has recently fallen slightly, after exceeding 2,000 at the beginning of the week.
In Italy, the number of new coronavirus infections rose from 34,505 to 37,809 on Friday compared to the previous day, according to the Ministry of Health. There were also 446 deaths, one more than the previous day. The number of deaths of infected persons in Italy since the beginning of the epidemic in February thus climbed to 40,638 victims, the Ministry of Health announced. A record number of 234,245 tests were carried out within 24 hours.
The number of confirmed active cases rose to 499,118 on Friday, with 472,598 people in quarantine. The number of Covid-19 patients treated in hospitals increased from 23,256 to 24,005 compared to the previous day, the Italian authorities further announced. There were 2,515 patients in intensive care units.
Due to the massive increase in corona numbers, the Italian government has decided to further tighten the measures starting today, Friday. Starting Friday evening, a nightly curfew from 22.00 to 5.00 hours and the closing of shopping centers on weekends will come into effect. In four regions – Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Calabria – a “lockdown light” with curfew and travel restrictions has been imposed. Stores and premises with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies, newsstands and tobacconists will have to close in these regions. The government intends to announce support measures for the affected economic sectors.
In Estonia, the number of new corona infections reached a new peak on Friday with 241 cases within 24 hours. Most of them were recorded in the capital Tallinn and the surrounding region. This was announced by the health authority in Tallinn. The previous record was 208 cases.
In London, more than 100 participants were arrested during an anti-lockdown demonstration. There is no excuse for people to violate regulations designed to prevent the further spread of the corona pathogen, police said during the night to Friday. The demonstrators marched through streets in the middle of the capital on Thursday evening, shouting “freedom” among other things. Since Thursday there has been a partial lockdown in England. People are only allowed to leave their homes for four weeks for good reasons such as work or visits to the doctor.
All EU countries except Finland are rated red by the EU Corona traffic light with the highest warning level. According to Thursday’s update, apart from Finland, only individual regions of Greece and the Azores, which belong to Portugal, are rated orange on the EU map to assess the corona situation. Green light is only available for Denmark’s autonomous territory Greenland. Grey appeared on Friday Liechtenstein and Slovakia, which means that the EU health agency ECDC does not yet have enough information for a re-evaluation.
Source: APA, Graphic: pixabay.com
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