As for Germany, it’s super-mega-ultra high risk.
No risk, no fun.
Coronavirus digest: Germany designates all neighboring countries ‘high risk’ – Germany has put Austria on its travel warning list, meaning all of its neighbors are now designated high-risk. Meanwhile, several Latin American countries have reported record daily infections.
While the number of available intensive care beds continues to rise.
Almost makes you wonder if this latest variant isn’t all that dangerous (am I allowed to wonder that?). Hey, when in doubt (and your everyday, run-of-the-mill top health official apparently always is) just increase the panic level one more notch.
Germany: Omicron wave breaks new weekly cases record – The new wave of coronavirus infections in Germany has now surpassed numbers last seen in November. Experts are warning of the threat this poses to the unvaccinated.
Please? For health reasons? And then there’s COVID too.
Berlin Shortens Film Festival, Requires Vaccination and Testing – The 2022 Berlinale hopes new COVID-19 restrictions will allow it to have in-person screenings and events in February.
The Berlin International Film Festival has cut three days off its official screening schedule for 2022 and introduced new coronavirus measures, requiring attendees to be both fully vaccinated or recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection, plus show a recent negative COVID test.
Berlin 2022 will now run Feb. 10-16, with the festival’s Gold and Silver Bear honors handed out on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The final four days of the festival, Feb. 17-20, will feature repeat screenings of festival titles in cinemas around the German capital. Traditionally, Berlin sets aside one day for these “public screenings.”
You can catch that Omicron cold there lickety-split there these days.
Germany has added to the list of high-risk areas the highest number of countries in over a year at once, including several European Union Member States, amid the increase of Coronavirus cases throughout the world, and in particular, the spread of the Omicron variant.
Updating the list of countries highly affected by the virus on Friday, January 7, 2022, the Robert Koch Institute, which is the German government research institute responsible for disease control and prevention, has expanded the same list by adding the following:
Angola
Argentina
Australia
The Bahamas
Bahrain
Belize
Bolivia
Cape Verde
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ivory Coast
Estonia
Fiji
France – the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, St. Martin and St. Barthélemy
Gabon
Ghana
Grenada
Guinea
Island
Israel
Jamaica
Qatar
Kenya
Comoros
Kuwait
Luxembourg
Mali
Mauritania
The Netherlands – the overseas parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands of Aruba and Curaçao
Nigeria
Panama
Rwanda
Zambia
Sweden
Sierra Leone
South Sudan
Togo
Uganda
Uruguay
The United Arab Emirates
That means mandatory vaccination. And those signs down there read “for free vaccination decisions” and “no to mandatory vaccination.”
Tens of thousands of people are protesting against the latest restrictive COVID measures in German cities all over the country. And it’s fun to watch the state media squirm. They’re clearly finding it more and more difficult labelling these people wackos.
In Hamburg, some 13,700 people attended a demonstration against the restrictions, police said.
Under the banner, “Stop the corona dictatorship,” 4,000 protested in Düsseldorf.
Around 5,000 people rallied in Frankfurt, according to the police.
It’s brilliant, really. Or diabolical, if you prefer.
First create the current energy crisis by forcing the country to go down the ideological path to unreliable and unaffordable renewable energy, come what may, heavily burdening the German taxpayer, consumer and businessman in the process. Then promise aid to those most negatively affected by this crisis by burdening the German taxpayer, consumer and businessman even further. And still come out of it smelling like a rose. Aid here is just another nice word for taxation.
Germany’s soaring energy prices force government to promise aid – Headline inflation dips slightly, but energy costs still rising at double-digit pace.
That means walks.
Over 35,000 German “walkers” protested against the government’s anti-Covid measures in German cities last night. This appears to be embarrassing for Germany’s state news channels because they are doing their damndest to ignore this.
Mehr als 35 000 Menschen sind am Montag in zahlreichen deutschen Städten gegen die staatlichen Corona-Maßnahmen auf die Straße gegangen – oft bei nicht genehmigten “Spaziergängen”.
In a related story: “Sheep are such likeable animals — maybe they can get the message over better.”
They had not choice. Firework sales have been prohibited in Germany.
Thanks a million, COVID.
Germans flock to Poland to buy fireworks in defiance of ban – Firework sales prohibited in Germany for second year in a row owing to Covid, resulting in growing stockpile.
Have a Happy New Year!
That means criminal charges. You know, like the charges made against those demonstrating against the government’s anti-Covid measures in Munich last night?
There were some 5,000 there alone. Word is, the German police have just about had it and don’t have the personnel to handle all the demonstrations in the German cities that are now taking place.
New Year’s Eve might get a little crazy this year.
Polizei stoppt 5000 Demonstranten in München – Zwei Dutzend Strafanzeigen.
That means riots. You know, like the “riot” taking place in the photo of this anti-Covid measure demonstration down there?
Germany Erupts in Protests Over COVID Mandates, Police Officers Injured in Riots – The protests come as the German government implemented new restrictions this month to deal with the Omicron variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than other variants.
Earlier in December, Germany announced limits on private gatherings that were to begin Tuesday. The restriction is intended to limit the number of people holding large gatherings on New Year’s Eve. A maximum of 10 vaccinated people are allowed to attend a private gathering. If someone who is unvaccinated attends, only one other household can go to the gathering.
German lawmakers have approved a law mandating that medical staff be vaccinated, according to the broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
“Now is not the time for parties in large groups.”
Observing Hermann 