Old habits are hard to break. Especially when you’re on a roll. If you expect COVID, then COVID restrictions there will be.
Germany announces new Covid measures for fall, expecting another wave of infections – Wearing masks on planes and during long-distance travel by train and bus will be mandatory from October to early April all over Germany. Mandatory mask-wearing and the presentation of a negative coronavirus test will apply to hospitals, nursing homes and similar institutions with vulnerable people.
Many other rules will be implemented individually by the country’s 16 states depending on how severely the virus spreads in their regions. This could include the wearing of masks on local public transportation, in schools for students in grade five and up, and at public indoor events.
Geez. You’d think the American Health Secretary would have known enough to get one of those anti-COVID vaccination thingies.
Oh. He did? Several, even? I know, these vaccinations don’t stop you from getting COVID (not anymore), they just stop you from passing it on to others (not anymore). Well, the Germans are going to lock his ass up in quarantine anyway. Or ought to.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while traveling in Berlin, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
“This morning in Berlin, ahead of G7 meetings for health ministers, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for COVID-19 after taking a PCR test,” HHS spokeswoman Sarah Lovenheim said in a statement. “He is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, and is experiencing mild symptoms. He will continue to perform his duties as HHS Secretary, working in isolation.”
As in “The German parliament just failed in its attempt to push for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.” This is getting scary, people. Imagine. This means that non-vaccinated German citizens will be able to decide for themselves whether they will be vaccinated or not. The horror or something.
Germany’s Scholz says he will not make second push for vaccine mandate –German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was disappointed the lower house of parliament on Thursday voted against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for people over 60, but would not launch a second attempt to push for a mandate.
Germany’s vaccination campaign is faltering, with around 76.6% of Germany’s population having received at least one dose – less than the more than 80% in other western European countries such as France, Italy and Spain.
A cross-party proposal had envisaged a bill requiring citizens aged 60 and over to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from Oct. 15, in an attempt to avoid another wave of the virus in the autumn.
Man Got 87 Doses Of Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccines – On some days, he got as many as three separate shots.
Reportedly, each time the man showed up to get vaccinated, he was armed, so to speak, with another blank vaccination document so that the vaccine batch number could be filled in the document after he got the shot. He could then sell these documents to people who wanted to pretend that they had gotten vaccinated and needed faux Covid-19 vaccination records. This scam may have worked, oh the first 80 or so times. But eventually staff members recognized the man, caught on, and notified the police.
Faces plagued by real problems, for a change. Problems like finding new sources of energy that will keep your homes heated and your economy running (and breaking free from your dependency on Russian energy = 50%), skyrocketing inflation, dire economic forecasts and that little war thing going on in Ukraine just a few miles down the road, for instance. COVID-19? What’s COVID-19?
Starting Friday, a number of rules and restrictions went away in much of Germany. That means no more masks in most shops, and no more proof of vaccination or day-of test in restaurants. Though some public transportation systems, individual businesses and institutions will keep mask requirements in place, the move to drop the majority of mandates tracks with many of Germany’s neighbors.
That means: There are other solutions. There are better alternatives.
And suddenly, inexplicably, despite the GROWING NUMBER of coronavirus infections, most German pandemic restrictions will now no longer be necessary. Makes one wonder if they were necessary in the first place. Hmmm.
German lawmakers vote to abolish most pandemic restrictions – Lawmakers in Germany have voted to abolish most of the country’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite a surge in infections, with almost 300,000 new daily cases reported
The government won’t be able to push its vaccine mandate through anymore, looks like. The political opposition is finally forming.
Germany’s plan for vaccination mandate losing momentum – Bundestag debate on general mandate unlikely before end of March when Covid-19 cases are forecast to fall.
“Plans for a vaccination mandate from age 18 or 50 are illusory solutions that won’t find a majority in the Bundestag.”
Do they mean fake vaccine CERTIFICATES or FAKE VACCINE certificates?
Report: German Police See Surge in Fake Vaccine Certificates – German news agency dpa has reported that police are investigating thousands of cases of suspected forgery of coronavirus vaccine certificates.
Germany’s parliament is expected to begin debating a universal vaccine mandate in the coming months, though government officials acknowledge the measure is unlikely to take effect for several months.
Almost 73% of the German population have received a full course of vaccines against COVID-19, while nearly 48 % have had an additional booster shot.
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.
Observing Hermann 