Lithuania has eased corona-related entry restrictions.
From now on, the quarantine obligation only applies to people arriving from countries whose infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants has been more than 10 percent higher than in Lithuania in the past two weeks. So far the limit was 25.
According to the Ministry of Health in Vilnius, the value for Lithuania is currently 55.7. With the new regulation, travelers from 21 countries - including Germany - can enter the Baltic Sea state without having to go into quarantine at home for two weeks.
However, there is also an obligation to register on arrival. Lithuania, with just under three million inhabitants, has so far recorded a total of 6248 confirmed infections and 103 deaths related to the coronavirus.
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A forecast by the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee and obtained exclusively by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) is that between 70 and 80 per cent of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are susceptible
to Covid-19 infection. Despite this, the evidence suggests that the refugees are facing the pandemic more or less on their own.
As of 5 October, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) the total number of Covid-19 cases among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon was 1,282 with 478 active cases and 31 deaths.
The new corona test regulation should come into force this Thursday. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) said on Wednesday in Berlin that he had signed the regulation in the morning and that it will come into force on Thursday.
Corona tests are to be concentrated more on risk groups and the health care system in the future - less on those returning to travel. Among other things, there are plans for nursing homes and hospitals to be able to make generous use of "rapid antigen tests" so that visitors,
staff and patients can be tested regularly. Spahn had recently spoken of additional tests "in large millions per month". He called it worrying that the number of infections was now rising again among older people.
After an illegal party with up to 150 guests in Bodenkirchen, Lower Bavaria, 20 people have already tested positive for the corona virus.
The Landshut district office announced on Wednesday that these are women and men between 25 and 32 years of age. The health department is trying to track down other party guests and break chains of infection.
Three siblings had invited to the party declared as "Oktoberfest" in the machine hall of a farm. At least 120, possibly 150 people celebrated and danced to draft beer and a live band on October 3rd, it said.
Hamster purchases are being made again in the first German supermarkets. The reason is probably the increasing corona numbers.
For example, the managing director of a Wuppertal Edeka family reported a massive increase in the demand for kitchen rolls, toilet paper and long-lasting foods such as pasta or flour. Aldi Süd is also now registering a change in buying behavior.
“We are currently seeing a slight increase in demand for individual products in our branches for the first time, including toilet paper,” said a company spokesman for “Wirtschaftswoche”.
The Federal Government does not rule out that the deliberations between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the federal states this afternoon do not lead to a unified line.
"Uniformity is desirable. But uniformity is not an end in itself and it is not certain that all participants will come to the same convictions today," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in Berlin.
He spoke of an "important consultation with a view to autumn, winter and Christmas, which we will all spend together". The point is to come back to a number of new corona infections in which contact can be traced in each individual case.
The new quarantine obligation for returnees from foreign corona risk areas should apply from November 8th. The details are regulated by a sample quarantine ordinance,
which the federal cabinet passed in the morning and which is intended to represent a "joint working aid for all countries", as government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. The concrete implementation lies with the federal states, travelers must observe their respective rules.
Originally, the innovations should come as early as October 15th. "Our common goal is to prevent new sources of infection in Germany by entering Germany," said Seibert.