German chief defends ‘powerful’ new restrictions – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the Germans to accept nationwide pandemic restrictions that came into effect at midnight. This resulted in a 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. curfew, further restrictions on personal contacts and access to non-essential stores in regions with high infection rates.

In her weekly video address on Saturday, Merkel admitted the new rules are “strict” but insisted they are necessary to contain the spread of the virus in the country.

The German epidemic control agency reported 23,392 newly confirmed cases and more than 286 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday. Germany has recorded nearly 3.3 million cases and 81,444 deaths since the pandemic began.

Merkel said the new measures, which will automatically take effect in regions with more than 100 newly reported cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week, are “urgently needed”.

She cited other countries like the UK, Portugal and Ireland, where infection rates fell sharply during strict lockdowns, and defended Germany’s new restrictions against critics who called them excessive.

“No country that has managed to break the third wave of the pandemic and then relax restrictions again has done so without strict measures such as night curfews,” said Merkel.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

– India patients are suffocating from lack of oxygen amid the world’s worst virus deluge

– With the reopening of Europe, the intensive teams will stay with the sick and the dying

– The US resumes vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson shots despite the rare risk of clotting

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Follow all AP pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE HAPPENS WHAT OTHER HAPPENS:

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan authorities are urging people to avoid large gatherings and stay at home as much as possible as confirmed COVID-19 cases rise rapidly across the island nation.

Regardless, prison authorities suspended visitors for two weeks from Saturday due to the surge in infections.

The number of newly confirmed cases in Sri Lanka has tripled in the past few days. For several weeks, the number of cases reported daily was below 300 and on Friday it was 969.

The country is still in the midst of an outbreak that broke out in October after two clusters of infections emerged in the capital, Colombo and its suburbs, one in a clothing factory and the other in a fish market.

The number of confirmed cases from the two clusters had risen to 92,595 on Friday. Overall, Sri Lanka has reported nearly 99,000 cases and more than 630 deaths since the pandemic began.

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SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgaria is easing restrictions ahead of Orthodox Easter and the start of summer vacation, even if the COVID-19 morbidity rate remains relatively high.

The government allows indoor services on Palm Sunday and Easter, but requires that services be shortened. The willow branches traditionally distributed on Palm Sunday must also be distributed outside the church building.

Believers are also advised not to touch or kiss religious icons, avoid crowds, and wear protective masks.

The tourism sector, which typically accounts for up to 12% of the Bulgarian country’s gross domestic product, has been hit hard by pandemic restrictions and hopes that visitors will return to the country’s Black Sea locations soon.

Health Minister Kostadin Angelov announced that foreign tourists arriving after May 1 will need to be tested, vaccinated or rescued from COVID-19 infection. Angelov said an accelerated vaccination campaign will allow authorities to ease restrictions further over the next month.

Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7 million people, has reported a total of 396,302 COVID-19 cases and 15,826 deaths in the pandemic and has administered 700,000 vaccine shots.

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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan reported the highest COVID-19 number in a single day on Saturday.

Authorities reported 157 deaths, bringing the total death toll to 16,999. A total of 5,908 additional cases increased the toll to 790,016 as authorities complain about routine violations of social distancing and mask-wearing rules.

Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Friday that military troops would be called to assist police in enforcing restrictions in public places.

The authorities also decided to keep the educational facilities closed until the situation improved.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on a talk show on Saturday that the situation in Pakistan was better than in neighboring India, despite the increase in cases and deaths. He said an airplane load of 500,000 doses of China’s Sinovac vaccines had arrived on Friday.

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WASHINGTON – A U.S. health panel says it’s time to resume use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine despite a very rare risk of blood clots.

Of nearly 8 million people who were vaccinated before the US suspended J&J shooting, health officials uncovered 15 cases of a highly unusual type of blood clot, three of which were fatal. All were women, most of them under 50.

However, advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the serious but small risk on Friday – especially against a virus that still infects tens of thousands of Americans every day. The government will be quick to weigh this recommendation in deciding what to do next.

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BUCHAREST, Romania – On Friday afternoon, a “vaccination marathon” was started in Romania’s western city of Timisoara, where anyone can show up without an appointment to receive a vaccine against COVID-19.

Around 10,000 Pfizer vaccine shots, carried out by medical volunteers, were provided for the 24/7 three-day event at the Timisoara Regional Business Center.

“As doctors in intensive care units… we struggle every day to save as many lives as possible. But now, compared to that time last year, we have the power to get out of the pandemic together – through vaccination, “intensive care doctor Dorel Sandesc told the local media.

Anyone over the age of 16 who can present a national ID card can receive a vaccine, while minors require written consent from a parent or legal guardian. Booster jabs are administered in the same “marathon” format in 21 days.

Since the pandemic began, Romania has recorded 1,042,521 positive COVID-19 infections, 27,113 have died and more than 4.5 million vaccine shots have been administered to its 19 million+ residents.

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WASHINGTON – Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant people get COVID-19 vaccinations. Agency director Rochelle Walensky announced the recommendation during an update on the pandemic at a White House briefing. She noted that a CDC study published earlier this week found no safety concerns about vaccinations against Moderna and Pfizer in the third trimester of pregnancy.

“We know this is a deeply personal choice, and I encourage people to speak to their doctors or primary care providers to find out what is best for them and their baby,” said Walensky.

Their recommendation seems to go further than the recommendations on the CDC website that the vaccines are unlikely to pose a safety risk during pregnancy, but the shots don’t necessarily recommend.

The new study is based on reports from pregnant women who received shots soon after the vaccines became available. The researchers asked for more data, including from vaccinations earlier in pregnancy.

COVID-19 can be dangerous during pregnancy, increasing the risk of complications and even death.

Pregnant women have been excluded from COVID-19 vaccination studies, although there are limited safety data on some who became pregnant after registration.

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KARACHI, Pakistan – A prominent Pakistani charity offered medical assistance to its arch-rival in neighboring India in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, made the offer in a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Edhi’s offer comes after India reported another global record of daily infections for a second straight day, adding 332,730 new cases.

In his letter, Edhi Modi asked permission to travel to India with volunteers and 50 ambulances to help Indian health workers. Edhi says he will lead his medical team, which will pay for housing and food for his volunteers while they are in India.

India’s reaction to the offer was not yet known. The Edhi Foundation is known for humanitarian aid in Pakistan, which is also home to the largest rescue service in the country.

Pakistan and India have had a history of bitter relations. You have waged two of the three wars against the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1947.