Corona: german foreign office issues travel warning for canary islands

adminonDecember 3, 2021February 19, 2022Leave a Comment

Now it's happened: After rising Corona numbers, the Canary Islands are now also considered a risk area
With that, the Foreign Office is now warning against travel throughout Spain
In no other European country is the disease rate as high as in the mainland hundreds of kilometers away: Thousands of new infections are reported daily

Due to the increased number of new Corona infections, the German government has also classified the Canary Islands and thus the whole of Spain as a risk area. The federally owned Robert Koch Institute (RKI) published an updated list of Corona risk areas on Wednesday.

The Foreign Office subsequently also ied a travel warning for the islands popular with German holidaymakers because of the Corona pandemic. With this, the federal government is now warning against "non-essential, touristy" travel to all parts of Spain.

Corona travel warning now applies to the whole of Spain

"Spain has been and continues to be severely affected by COVID-19," the Foreign Office said Wednesday evening, explaining the decision. In the Canary Islands, he said, the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife were particularly affected.

So far, the archipelago was the only region of Spain for which the German government had not yet ied a travel warning.

Central criterion for the German Classification as a risk area is which states or regions have seen more than 50 new infections per 100 in the past seven days.000 inhabitants and residents has given. Read here: So it goes on after the travel warning for the Canary Islands now on the islands.

Canary Islands exceeded threshold for travel warning

On Wednesday, this value for the Canary Islands as a whole was 98.3. If this value exceeds the threshold of 100, the regional government wants to ie contact restrictions.

Currently there are 4885 active infections on the archipelago with about 2.15 million inhabitants
The previous record of new infections was on Sunday (30. August) was detected with 367 cases within 24 hours.

A Travel warning of the federal government for the Canary Islands would "deal a death blow" to the hard-hit tourism industry, which contributes to about 35 percent of regional income, media warned Friday. "It's not going well," said Fernando Simon, Spain's chief epidemiologist and spokesman for health authorities.

In some parts of the country, it said, the epidemic already again out of control.
In the past five days alone, around 23 coronas were registered in Spain.000 new infections registered (as of 2. September).
In no other European country the illness rate is so high as in the vacation country Spain. National health experts are already warning of a new "viral tsunami".

Spain: Corona cases also rising rapidly in the Canary Islands

Despite its previous special status, "desolation" and "despair" already reign on the islands, the newspaper El DIa wrote Friday, showing photos of empty streets and pubs. Because of the emergency, the Canary Islands regional president angel VIctor Torres announced Tuesday night (1. September) announced new restrictions, which he called "drastic".

Corona: german foreign office issues travel warning for canary islands

On the particularly hard-hit Islands of Gran Canaria and Lanzarote events with more than ten participants are banned since Saturday for two weeks for the time being. Restaurants and pubs will close as early as midnight.

Throughout the region, people will also Mask have to carry. Torres warned the 2.15 million inhabitants of his region that the police will have more officers to ensure that the rules are respected. "We never thought it would get worse here," said Mauro, who runs a restaurant in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The hope that many German Mallorca fans after the "disqualification" of the Mediterranean island by the Foreign Office for the Canary Islands would rebook, had namely not fulfilled in the past two weeks. "It's already a dead heat here", complains Mauro. "The typical Mallorca tourist probably does not like what is on offer in the Canary Islands," the newspaper "El Diario" noted disappointedly these days.

Madrid: Epidemiologist expects 'drastic measures' in fight against Corona

The situation is currently most alarming in the capital city Madrid, the absolute national hotspot, and in the northern part of Spain. "If the number of cases continues to rise, drastic measures will have to be taken," warns epidemiologist Simon, who coordinates the state's anti-Corona campaign. New Curfews are therefore not ruled out in Spain.

So far, authorities are still trying to contain the new virus outbreak with appeals, restrictions on gatherings, a general closure of discos and night bars, and total Compulsory masks to fight.
Spain-wide, there is now even a widespread Smoking ban in public to reduce potential infection risks from exhaled smoke.
Smoking is only allowed if there are no other people within a radius of two meters.

However, all these measures have so far been able to prevent the second major virus wave Do not stop in Spain.

Corona: illnesses in Spain pass more easily than in spring

Even though the daily number of cases is now approaching the peak values of the spring again. As a result, most illnesses now run a milder course, which is reflected in the number of victims: The number of registered Corona deaths is currently with 10 to 20 per day far below the horror figures of the end of March, when about 900 people died daily from or with Covid-19.

And that, in addition, increased testing and tracking capacity means that many more infected people without symptoms of the disease are now being recorded.

Only about five percent of those infected currently require hospital treatment.
The Spanish Intensive care units Are thus not yet overcrowded with patients, as they were during the first wave of disease.
On the other hand, local health centers, which are responsible for the initial diagnosis of the infection and for following up on contacts, are on the verge of collapse.

Vacations: Half of parents in Spain don't want to send children to school

But the worst could be yet to come. In September, public life rolls back into action after the traditional Spanish vacation month of August: Millions of employees will return to their Workplace back. Schools and open universities. Local buses and trains are filling up again. A nightmare for state virus expert Simon, who calls this an "explosive mix". Read here: Most recently, party during the Corona crisis caused a stir.

Spectacular images: Sandstorm over Tenerife and Gran Canaria

According to a survey by the daily La Razon, about half of all parents do not want to send their children to school. Teachers' unions, meanwhile, are threatening strikes because schools are being closed for the Classes in the Corona era are unprepared. The summer has not been used to create security concepts, they complain. In fact, for example, it is not even clear yet whether there will be a Mandatory masks will give. Before the start of school, "La Razon" describes the mood as "chaos, fear and uncertainty".

Tablets that send signals for correct intake after dissolving in the stomach, or contact lenses that constantly measure eye prere to prevent glaucoma: In the medicine of the future, many things are conceivable that today sound like dreams of the future. The art of healing, so far little upended by digitization, is about to undergo a transformation. It offers opportunities for patients, facilitation for physicians, business for corporations, but also risks in data protection.

Worldwide, the digital healthcare market will more than double to a good 200 billion dollars (170 billion euros) by 2020, reports dpa, citing estimates by the consulting firm Roland Berger. Investors put vast sums into growth companies developing health apps for smartphones. They could record blood prere and body temperature, make initial diagnoses and recommend that owners visit a doctor. And electronic patient records could improve treatments and reduce costs in healthcare systems by $80 billion in the medium term, says Thilo Kaltenbach, Partner at Roland Berger.

The evaluation of patient data is one of the most important future projects in the German healthcare system. Lushly funded with 150 million euros from the German Federal Ministry of Research, an initiative is underway that could one day allow university hospitals to share patient data. So far, billing data from health insurance companies has been analyzed, but not medical data.

Clinicians and researchers are already producing a lot of data, the ministry says. "More and more X-rays, doctor's letters or laboratory values are being recorded electronically". But the data would not be linked enough. Patients therefore often went through an odyssey with doctors until they received the right treatment. Often there is a lack of comparable medical cases or long-term experience.

A bridge is now to be built between patient care and research. He said the project helps researchers gain a better understanding of diseases, which is "urgently needed for new prevention, diagnosis and treatment methods". In the end, clinics and doctors should be able to access patient data via interfaces and rely on all the data that is important in the healthcare system.

The United Kingdom has had good experience with the integration of patient expertise, says Susanne Mauersberg, health expert at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband). "Meanwhile, more patient experience is urgently needed in research, even with Big Data".

Physicians' representatives also welcome the use of anonymized treatment data. For research, it would be "real progress" if patients could determine whether their treatment data could be stored in "secure and state-controlled" databases, says Peter Bobbert, federal executive at the Marburger Bund. But for that, high scientific and ethical standards would have to apply, and patients would have to remain masters of the process. "Data protection must not be set aside."

A common position of all federal states for patient consent is still missing. Mauersberg promotes a practical solution. If sick people have to give their consent for each purpose individually, this is not very practicable. "We also need contemporary and dynamic data protection."In her view, the USA is a negative example: patient profiles are traded there.

But it's not just the federal government that's testing the economic and medical opportunities of patient data; the private sector is, too. Germany's largest hospital operator, Fresenius Helios, is conducting initial trials, and software company SAP is working with Berlin's Charite Clinic on a project to improve treatment of the chronically ill by using patient data. "Hospitals have tons of data that they can't even use on their own," said SAP expert Kai Sachs at a conference in Frankfurt.

If data could be linked and made available to doctors, this could improve therapies for the chronically ill, according to the vision. Data could warn of heart damage if patients' resting pulse was regularly too high or data fluctuations indicated harmful water retention. It is a prototype project, SAP emphasizes. All data protection laws would be respected.

Economic benefits of digitization that would benefit the healthcare system as a whole are welcome, says Marburger Bund. The vast majority of employed physicians believe that digitalization can improve work in hospitals. However, economic aspects should not be the primary consideration. "We must prevent financially strong companies from developing a business model from personalized medical data to increase their own profits," says Bobbert.

However, digital future projects cost a lot of money – and that is scarce in hospitals. According to the German Hospital Association (DKG), a quarter of the 2,000 or so clinics in this country are making losses. Ten billion euros needed for digital upgrade, Marburger Bund estimates. He calls for a "special government program.

So far, however, the money has been slow in coming. Of the six billion euros needed annually for investments, the German states paid only about half, criticizes the DKG. Money for modernization is lacking at all corners and ends. A lot still has to happen before digital showcase projects become established in clinics, he said.

Active as retired police officers, a flower store owner, a former Olympic swimming champion, former elite soldiers, a Republican state legislator from West Virginia, real estate brokers, students, the unemployed, construction workers, housewives: Going through the list of more than 100 rioters already charged in the 6. January were present at the storming of the Capitol in Washington, no consistent picture emerges for investigators. Police say the attack will lead to hundreds more proceedings.

"Alongside martially clad militiamen, there were evangelicals, gun fanatics, anti-globalization activists, conspiracy sectarians, hard-core neo-Nazis, Democrat haters and seemingly ordinary Donald Trump supporters standing shoulder-to-shoulder," says a Washington investigator familiar with the background.

Storming the Capitol: Who is behind it?

Was there a strategic ordering hand behind the Capitol storm? Or, a motley random mob formed after coordinating calls on the Internet and Trump's speech that was perceived as inflammatory? No one knows reliably yet.

But: In the evaluation of more than 150.000 tips, the majority of them cell phone video sequences of participants and onlookers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified dozens of representatives of groups with a reputation in this field. They often differ only gradually in ideology, are often armed to the teeth, and ideologically rally behind one person: Donald Trump.

Who is the mob that stormed the capitol in washington??

Homeland Security warns of right-wing domestic terrorism

The groups represent what the Department of Homeland Security says is a "rapidly growing" threat of domestic terrorism coming from the right that will keep America busy for some time to come.

In addition to the Oath Keepers, founded in 2009, which founder Stewart Rhodes says is the largest anti-government militia with more than 20,000 members, the group includes the Three Percenters, the Boogaloo Bois, Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys, who have become even more famous for their benevolent Trump remarks.

All of them far-right, nationalist, racist, militant, male-dominated groups. They see themselves as a kind of shadow army of Trump in the fight against everything that seems leftist and Democratic. They deliberately seek the confrontation with Antifa. And they feel legitimized and empowered by the outgoing president.

Ex-military: Trump just needs to shout

Representative of this is the statement of the top "oath keeper" Rhodes. Trump "just has to shout – and we'll be there," the ex-military man had said before and after the November election. Rhodes calls the incoming leaders, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, "illegitimate, communist China puppets". He threatened a "bloody civil war" if they get into office.

Trump wants nothing to do with violent supporters

Several representatives of these groups are considered highly dangerous by the FBI because they have "radicalized" in the recent past, said one security official.

Example: Robert Gieswein. The 24-year-old from Cripple Creek, Colorado, runs the "Woodland Wild Dogs". This is a paramilitary group that showed up outside the Capitol in combat fatigues and helmets. Gieswein made a martial call in a video to "remove corrupt politicians like Biden and Kamala from office".

Far-right groups could gain further traction

Extremism experts from the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama expect the events at the Capitol to bring "further influx" to some 200 known far-right groups. "Some have now tasted blood." What that could do to a country with an estimated 400 million privately owned guns, it would be easy to imagine.

US election 2020 – All important news

Sensitive prison sentences, on the other hand, are likely to come to people like Robert Sandford and Peter Francis Stager. Retired Pennsylvania firefighter Sandford, convinced of Joe Biden's "election fraud," slammed fire extinguisher at police officers' heads. Stager was filmed beating a downed "cop" with a flagpole. In a video after the act, he pointed at the Capitol and yelled, "Death is the only cure for this building. Everyone in it is a traitor."

Some rioters expect to be pardoned by Trump

Meanwhile, people like Jacob Chansley practice trying to shift the burden of proof. The out-of-work actor, who gained dubious notoriety as a buffalo-horned, tattooed shaman in the Capitol, said he came to Washington solely at the behest of Donald Trump to track the "stolen" election. That's why his lawyer says he expects to be pardoned by the president, who leaves office tomorrow.

Jennifer Ryan made similar comments in front of a running television camera. The Dallas, Texas, real estate broker had come to Washington by private plane – "because my president called me". Doesn't see blame on herself, only duty to perform. Analysts expressed "shock at the sense of injustice".

Trump: my speech before Capitol storming was 'absolutely appropriate'

One facet that is causing concern is the apparent high level of participation by police and military in the storming. Ahsli Babbitt, the Californian shot by a "cop" while entering a secure area and a follower of QAnon conspiracy theories, was an Air Force pilot. Larry Brock, who was filmed in the Senate chamber wearing plastic handcuffs while searching for parliamentarians, also served in the Air Force.

Democrat defense politicians call for study of armed forces' potential vulnerability to extremism. As a precaution, all 25,000 National Guardsmen were screened for identification purposes to secure Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Pentagon apparently does not rule out disruptive maneuvers from within its own ranks.