Coronavirus latest: Germany plans to lift travel warning for 31 countries

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Coronavirus latest: Germany plans to lift travel warning for 31 countries

8:34 CAT | 26 May 2020

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. [Photot Fabrizio Bensch/Pool Photo via AP]

Summary of latest updates:

Outdoor markets and car showrooms to open from 1 June in UK

The World Health Organization will temporarily drop hydroxychloroquine trial due to safety concerns

Immunity to coronaviruses may only last just six months, says new study

Germany approves €9bn euro aid package for Lufthansa

Significant milestone’ as Ireland sees first day without COVID-19 death

Japan lifts state of emergency for entire country

Japan has lifted the state of emergency status for the entire country. The last areas to change their status were Hokkaido and Tokyo’s greater area.

Originally, the state of emergency was meant to last until May 31. However, no hard lockdown restrictions such as those in Europe were imposed. The government had asked citizens to stay home if possible and thereby limited the spread of the virus.

Japan registered 17,300 coronavirus cases. 850 people had died of COVID-19.

Latam Airlines files for bankruptcy protection

South American carrier Latam Airlines says it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA, as it grapples with the sharp downturn in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Santiago, Chile-based airline said Tuesday that it and some of its affiliated companies launched the reorganisation effort in the United States.

The carrier aims to continue operating and hopes to reduce its debt and find new financing sources through the bankruptcy process.

Passenger and cargo flights will continue to operate, and employees will still be paid, it said.

German government wants to lift travel warning for 31 countries

The German government intends to lift the global travel warning for tourists starting June 15 for 31 European countries, provided the development of the pandemic allows so.

All 26 member states are included in these plans, as well as the UK and the four Schengen countries that are not part of the EU: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. DPA received a draft plan titled “Criteria for the facilitation of inner-European tourism.” The cabinet will likely decide on these plans this Wednesday.

Germany wants to replace the global travel warning with individual travel guidelines, which will list the risks for each and every country. In order to ensure the best protection against the coronavirus as possible for tourists, the Federal government wants to advocate for a list of common criteria within the EU.

What do we know about Hydroxychloroquine?

Hydroxychloroquine has been touted numerous times by the President of the United States as a potential ‘cure’ for the coronavirus. On Monday, Trump went further by claiming that he had been taking the drug as a preventative measure against SARS-CoV-2.

New vaccine trial begins in Australia

U.S. biotechnology company Novavax began injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into people in Australia with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year. The first phase of the vaccine trial involves 131 volunteers and will test the safety of the vaccine while looking for signs of its effectiveness.

About a dozen experimental vaccines are in the early stages of testing or poised to start. It’s not clear that any will prove safe and effective. Novovax expects the results of the Australian trial to be known in July and it’s making more doses in anticipation the vaccine will work.

Spain corrects its official death toll

In a surprise announcement on Monday, Spain corrected its official death toll from COVID-19, saying that almost 2,000 fewer people had died than previously thought.

The Health Ministry said the amended death toll stood at 26,834 – down from the figure of 28,752 published a day earlier.

Fernando Simón, the director of Spain’s health alerts and emergency centre, explained the discrepancy was detected as officials sifted through data and corrected it.

Officials deleted deaths counted twice and people whose deaths were not confirmed as having been caused by the virus.

The quality of data being gathered had improved considerably, Simon said, adding that automated data collection had introduced errors.

However, the figures do not include the thousands of people who are believed to have died, especially in nursing homes, with symptoms attributable to the coronavirus, though unconfirmed.

Source: Euronews