About half of the Spanish military is involved in disinfecting the streets of cities across the country. In Spain, there are again many deaths per day, but overall the epidemic is declining in the country. Britain is experiencing a peak in cases, Germany is ready to help EU countries with money, the Prime Minister of Finland is locked up at home. And by the way, what will happen to European soccer?
The number of coronavirus victims in Spain has exceeded 22,000. Another 440 patients have died in the last 24 hours, more than the previous day. 4,635 new cases have been detected. At the same time, the overall epidemic in the country is coming to an end. Spain plans to begin easing quarantine measures in mid-May. Children under the age of 14 will be allowed to go for walks this Sunday. Previously, they were not allowed to leave their homes.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said her country is ready to increase its financial contributions to the European Union budget to help its members in more difficult situations cope with the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath. At the same time, Merkel warned that Germany must show “intelligence and caution” in fighting the coronavirus, as it is “not the final phase of the crisis, but still the beginning”. “We will have to live with this virus for a long time,” Merkel told the German parliament via video link. She noted that the country is facing its toughest test since World War II in terms of people’s lives and health. Merkel urged residents to exercise maximum discipline to avoid the need for repeated quarantine measures. In addition, the German government is providing an additional 10.8 billion euros to support its own economy. The aid package includes tax cuts for businesses, increased benefits for workers in all sectors, and payments of 70-77% of wages to people who have been involuntarily unemployed. Families with home-schooled children will receive assistance in purchasing computers.
Wearing masks while shopping may be mandatory in some German states. The coronavirus situation in Germany is the most favorable in Europe. Out of more than 150 thousand infected people, about 5.3 thousand have died. Such a relatively low mortality rate in the country with the largest population in Europe is attributed to the timely introduction of a mass testing system. In the country, the quarantine measures are gradually being relaxed, but there are plans in several states to make it compulsory to wear masks in shops.
EU heads of state and government held a video summit to discuss the pandemic. They decided to create a special fund to provide emergency assistance to European companies and countries most affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The fund is expected to be established within the next two months, with an initial allocation of 540 billion euros. However, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that in the long term, the total amount of the emergency fund should reach 1 trillion euros. At the same time, European countries have yet to agree on how exactly this fund will be formed. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed that all members of the European Union share the debt incurred after providing aid to Spain and Italy, the countries most affected by the crisis. However, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden opposed this proposal. After the summit, Macron clarified that the biggest disagreement was over whether the emergency fund should be provided as direct grants or loans.
The number of services is expected to remain the same: British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced that all workers whose jobs are deemed essential will soon be able to undergo coronavirus testing. Previously, the authorities had promised to carry out 100,000 tests a day, but so far only about 50,000 have been carried out, which has been criticized by the opposition. The number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the UK continues to rise. Yesterday, Hancock said that the country was currently experiencing the peak of the epidemic and that there was no talk of easing the quarantine. At the same time, Thursday’s death data were more promising than Wednesday’s: 616 people died of coronavirus in UK hospitals in the past 24 hours, compared with 759 deaths reported the day before. In total, nearly 140,000 cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the country, with more than 18,700 deaths recorded. These statistics do not include those who died at home or in nursing homes.
Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma announced that the government has included 2.8 million people in its plan to support workers who have been forced to take indefinite leave due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the plan, the country’s authorities will pay them 80% of their average wages. In this case, it specifically refers to those who have become temporarily unemployed, rather than those who have lost their jobs due to complete company closures or layoffs. For these categories, there are other support schemes. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has gone into self-isolation after a member of her staff came into contact with a person diagnosed with Covid-19. The official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that Marin had undergone a coronavirus test, which came back negative. She also has no symptoms of the disease. However, in the current situation it is better to observe increased precautions. Last December, 34-year-old Sanna Marin found herself at the center of the world’s attention when she became the youngest head of government in the world. In Finland, more than 4 thousand cases of infection and 149 deaths have been registered. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the few countries where children and the elderly are not allowed to leave their homes. However, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that this was a direct violation of citizens’ right to freedom of movement and gave the government five days to repeal the measure.
Doctors in Belgium are working in emergency mode. Many deaths from Covid-19 are occurring in nursing homes across the country. In Belgium, 230 people died in one day, most of them in nursing homes. At the same time, the number of intensive care patients diagnosed with Covid-19 has decreased significantly throughout the country and is currently less than 1000. The total number of infections and deaths in the country is over 42,000 and 6,490 respectively. In the Netherlands, 123 patients have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 4,177. At the same time, the daily number of newly diagnosed cases is much lower than in most Central European countries. In the past day, 887 residents of the country were diagnosed, and the total number of infected people in the Netherlands is over 35,000. Turkey has imposed strict quarantine measures in 31 provinces of the country. Exceptions have been made only for some food stores and pharmacies. The number of victims of the epidemic in Turkey has risen sharply in recent days. More than 100,000 cases of infection have been detected in the country, and nearly 2,500 people have died. In China, a civilian journalist named Li Zhehua was found missing after reporting on the coronavirus situation in the city of Wuhan. For two months, nothing was heard from him. His last report appeared on YouTube on February 26, with footage of the journalist being chased by police. In his new video, he says he has been in quarantine all this time. In mid-February, two more activists who were sharing videos of events in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, went missing. There is still no news of them. Last week, an additional 4.4 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the United States. This brings the number of unemployed in the country to more than 26 million, or more than 15% of the country’s total labor force – the most significant labor market crisis in the country’s recent history. The government’s $349 billion stimulus package for small businesses was spent within two weeks. The United States continues to lead the world in the number of people infected and the number of deaths – nearly 848,000 and more than 47,000, respectively.
Germany’s Bundesliga could be the first major league in Europe to return to the field. On Thursday, the management of both divisions proposed to resume the tournaments on May 9. The proposal must now be approved by Angela Merkel and the state premiers. They are expected to announce their decision on April 30. The Belarusian Premier League is the only one in Europe that did not cancel matches because of the coronavirus. No quarantine or restrictive measures were taken in this country. Meanwhile, UEFA on Thursday discussed several proposals on how teams can qualify for next year’s European Championship if domestic leagues do not return to competition in the near future. These include the possibility of holding championships on a regular schedule, as well as mini-tournaments or play-offs. UEFA has also decided that the 2020 European Football Championship, which was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic, will still be called Euro 2020. “This decision allows UEFA to maintain the original idea of dedicating the tournament to the 60th anniversary of the European Football Championships (1960-2020),” the organization’s statement said.