Coronavirus digest: Calls grow for COVID tests in Germany

The president of the German Medical Association on Sunday called for the reintroduction of free COVID testing in Germany, as a new surge in infections challenges local governments and health regulators to take action. 

Free COVID tests were phased out in October in a bid to encourage more people to get the vaccine, rather than simply presenting a negative test result before entering an indoor public space. 

However, a month later, the effectiveness of this strategy is being called into question. 

"Doing away with covering the costs of coronavirus tests has apparently not motivated people who are unwilling to be vaccinated," association president Klaus Reinhardt told the the newspapers of the Funke media group.

He said federal and state officials should quickly correct this "mistake" and reinstate the tests.

Government officials such as conservative Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder and North Rhine-Westphalia's Premier Hendrik Wüst have also called for free testing to be reinstated. 

Along with the free testing, Reinhardt also called for an expansion of the so-called "2G" rule, a stricter regulation only allowing those vaccinated or recovered from the coronavirus to attend large events or enter buildings like restaurants, bars and cinemas. 

As the cold weather returns to Germany, COVID cases continue to rise. On Sunday, the Robert Koch Institute of infectious diseases (RKI) reported 23,543 new infections. The seven-day incidence rate, which indicates the number of new infections per 100,000 people, has risen to 191.5, approaching highs last seen in December2020 before the widespread availability of vaccines. 

Here are the major developments on coronavirus from around the world:

Europe

Local media in Austria have reported that strict measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 will likely remain in place throughout Christmas and New Year.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung: "I am not assuming that in six weeks the situation will be such that we can take the measures back. So it will probably be a 2G Christmas.”

According to the 2G rule, people are required to show proof of vaccination or recovery, or face being barred from cafes and restaurants. The measures will also be in place for visits to hotels, cinemas and events of more than 25 people.

Doctors in Germany are facing growing attacks over COVID-19 vaccinations, according to professional organizations.

Klaus Reinhardt, president of the German Medical Association told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, that what is happening now to medical professionals would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

The attacks on doctors take the form of defamatory evaluations on public platforms and insulting emails, through to death threats.

Police in the eastern German city of Leipzig said they recorded more than 48 criminal offences during demonstrations against COVID-19 measures.

According to police spokesperson Olaf Hoppe, 43 suspects were being investigated for a variety of offences including bodily harm, assaulting police officers and civil disorder.

Over 1000 people gathered in the city to demonstrate against the government's COVID-19 measures, police said. Officers managed to prevent those marching from entering the city's inner ring road, as tens of thousands had managed to do so last year.

In the Netherlands, thousands have demonstrated in The Hague against tighter COVID-19 measures. A spike in infections has led to reinstating the mask mandate for public spaces. People wishing to enter certain facilities must also present proof of vaccination, recovery from the virus or a negative test result.

Demonstrators protested what they called an "apartheid of the unvaccinated" as they compared the COVID requirements to "Nazi rule."

Americas

A federal appeals court in the United States has temporarily halted the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more workers. 

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires all such workers to be vaccinated by January 4 to avoid face mask requirements and weekly tests. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted an emergency stay to this order.

Some of the top scientists in Brazil have refused a a prestigious award over President Jair Bolsonaro's rejection of scientific findings during the pandemic.

Bolsonaro, who has become notorious for skepticism of scientific consensus on coronavirus, had named 25 leading figures for Brazil's National Order of Scientific Merit medal.

But two days before the list was published, Bolsonaro removed Marcus Lacerda from the award list after the doctor wrote a report contradicting the president's claims on the effectiveness of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to fight COVID.

In a joint statement, 21 scientists said the removal of Lacerda was part of Bolsonaro's "systematic attack on science and technology."

The protest came as Brazil recorded 328 more deaths and nearly 12,000 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to nearly 610,000.

Oceania

Sydney, the largest city in Australia, is set to ease social distancing measures on Monday, a month after it exited a virus-induced lockdown that lasted close to 100 days. Health officials have said the city is nearing a 90% full vaccination milestone. 

"We're leading the nation out of the pandemic," said State Premier Dominic Perrottet, calling for a "final push" to reach and cross the goal of 95% vaccinations.

Limits on houseguests and outdoor gatherings are being lifted, among other measures. However, the relaxed rules only apply to the fully vaccinated.

see, jc/wmr (dpa, Reuters, AP, EFE)