Covid-19

Facebook has frozen the page of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a company spokesperson said, after the leader was accused of violating the platform's policies about the spread of Covid-19 misinformation.

A spokesperson for the company also told the AFP news agency that a video from Maduro's page had been removed "for violating our policies against misinformation about Covid-19 that is likely to put people at risk for harm".

BioNTech and Pfizer announced Thursday that they are launching pediatric trials of their Covid-19 vaccine on children 12 years and under.

"Together with our partner BioNTech, we have announced a global study to further evaluate our #COVID19 vaccine in healthy children ages 6 months to 11 years. We are proud to start this much needed study for children and families eagerly awaiting a possible vaccine option," Albert Bourla,

Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, announced on Twitter. "As a father and a scientist, I would like to thank our participants and their parents and caregivers for enrolling in the study. We need to continue gathering evidence on the safety and efficacy of #COVID19 vaccines for important populations, including children."

In just 24 hours, 3,650 deaths linked to the disease were officially registered Friday, according to data from the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass). The previous record had been registered last on March 23rd, with 3,251 lives lost in 24 hours.

With the new balance, the total number of victims of the disease in Brazil is 307,112. The mortality rate per group of 100,000 inhabitants rose to 146.1 in Brazil, the 18th highest in the world, when disregarding the dwarf countries San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra, according to a Johns Hopkins University survey.

The Argentinean government on Friday formalized the suspension of flights from Brazil, Chile and Mexico, due to the increasing cases of Covid-19 in those countries, and the circulation of new strains. The new measure starts on Saturday.

The government's objective is to reduce the number of trips during Easter Week, a time when many citizens tend to travel around the country or abroad, which in this case is the main concern.

Santander has announced it will close 111 UK branches as the company will shift its focus to mobile and online banking amid increasing numbers of customers visiting bank branches. The decision affects around 840 employees, but Santander promised to offer them different jobs within its company.

Italian inspectors found a secret stock of 29 million doses of the AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine in a filling plant of the company near Rome. AstraZeneca delivered around 30 million doses to the EU so far, but promised three times as much. The EU Commission is now demanding accountability.

The number of deaths in Brazil by Covid-19 passed 300,000 on Wednesday, according to reporting by the consortium of Brazilian media companies. The mark comes at the worst moment of the pandemic in the country, with more restrictive measures in several states and with the federal government facing harsh criticism for mismanagement of the health crisis.

Also on Tuesday, President Jair Bolsonaro made a televised statement to talk about his government's actions to combat the pandemic, but he lied by extolling all he did in an attempt to secure the purchase of vaccines. In the speech, Bolsonaro defended immunisation and said that "2021 will be the year of the vaccination of Brazilians", a very different tone from that adopted in other pronouncements, where he compared the virus to a "little flu".

Belgian professional football player Tuur Dierckx was sentenced to one month in prison and must also pay a fine of 800 euros after he hosted an illegal Covid-19 party in December. Four other professionals who had attended the party were fined between 400 and 600 euros.

In court, the players' lawyers had asked for leniency. Professional footballers are in a bubble with other players, coaches and staff, so that despite the pandemic, they no longer see a compelling need to restrict their contacts.

After massive criticism, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has decided to put a stop to the extended 'Easter lockdown' that had been planned to go from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday. This was announced by Merkel on Wednesday in a meeting with the Minister-Presidents of the federal states, which was convened at short notice, as SPIEGEL learned from several participants. At the federal-state roundtable on Monday, Merkel and the heads of the states had initially agreed on a comprehensive cut over the Easter holidays.

France will move on to Phase 2 of Coronavirus vaccination. Appointments will be authorized for all people over 70 from Saturday March 27th on, Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday. The country now has "an acceleration of the delivery of the number of doses and therefore we can move on to a second phase of more massive vaccination," Macron said.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has released a statement, saying that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent group of experts that advises US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, was concerned "that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data."

"Late Monday, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) notified NIAID, BARDA, and AstraZeneca that it was concerned by information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial,” the statement says. “The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel and German state leaders have agreed on an even stricter shutdown over the Easter holidays. From April 1 to April 5, over the Easter holiday period, shops, including grocery stores, will largely have to close.

Tuesday's announcement marks a reversal from earlier this month when state leaders agreed to begin a cautious reopening process.

According to Germany's Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI), the seven-day incidence rate stood at 107 on Monday, above the 100 threshold at which hospitals often become overwhelmed.

An emergency curfew from 8 pm to 6 am has been imposed for Miami Beach on Saturday as spring break crowds flocked the area. In addition to the curfew, restaurants have to close at 8 pm in South Beach and three bridges to mainland Miami are being closed between 1 pm an 6 am.

Alain Fischer, France's vaccination chief, said Monday that he excepts a return to some kind of "normal" life by either Summer or Autumn. France has just resumed use of the AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccine last week and Prime Minister Jean Castex received the first dose of the vaccine on Thursday.

A US trial with over 32,000 participants has shown that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is both safe and effective, preventing symptomatic infections with a 79% efficacy and severe infections and hospitalizations with a 100% efficacy. The trial has also shown no safety concerns associated with blood clots.

Iceland has opened its borders to travellers who are fully vaccinated or can produce confirmation of a prior infection on March 18, the first European country to do so.

“The world has been through a lot in the past twelve months, and we are all hoping for a slow and safe return to normalcy. This also includes the resumption of the opportunity to travel, which is valuable to culture, trade and enterprise. The decision to apply border exemptions for vaccinated individuals to countries outside the EU/EEA area is a logical extension of our current policy,” says Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland.

According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (Ages), the more infectious mutant recently accounted for 76 percent of positive tests nationwide. In Vienna, the proportion is already 90 percent. Vienna is also likely to have recently surpassed Tyrol in terms of new infections with the South African variant B.1.351.

Lars Schaade, Vice President of the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI), has warned that Germany is facing "another tough few weeks" as Covid-19 cases rise and hospitals are "heavily burdened". Germany has seen an increase in infections with the more potent B.1.1.7. strain and Schaade warns of an "exponential" rise in cases that could potentially overwhelm hospitals.

The Brazilian government signed a contract with Pfizer for the purchase of 100 million doses of vaccine against Covid-19.

According to the schedule released by the Ministry of Health, the jabs are to be delivered between April and September.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday he would be in favour of signing a national supply deal with Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19.

"I can also well imagine that we conclude contracts - and conclude them quickly," Spahn told a weekly news conference, adding that Germany was in close contact with Russia on questions to do with the vaccine. A prerequisite, however, is that there is more detail on how many doses could be delivered, he said.