COVID digest: German minister tests positive in US

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Twitter late Wednesday in the US that he had tested positive for COVID after his appointments with the International Monetary Fund and the G20 in Washington. 

"After two years without a COVID-19 infection, after a negative result yesterday in a test center and another negative rapid test earlier today: positive," Lindner wrote. "Thanks to three vaccinations only mild and already fading cold symptoms." 

Lindner was taking part in various appointments in the US capital, focused on the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund as well as a G20 session he participated in and a smaller G7 finance ministers' meeting he chaired, as Germany is the current G7 presidency holder. 

According to Finance Ministry officials, he had been undergoing regular tests, all of them negative, until recording one positive rapid test late on Wednesday. 

The 43-year-old had further appointments scheduled for Thursday in the US, and then a late evening return flight. The impact on his travel schedule was not immediately clear. 

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

Europe

Germany reported 186,325 new COVID infections on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 23,844,536, according to the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases. The rolling seven-day average of cases per population of 100,000 was recorded at 720. 

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he expects the coronavirus situation in the country to ease during the summer but warned the country must prepare for a fresh wave of infections in the fall. He claimed that there are likely twice as many coronavirus cases in the country than are currently being officially reported and voiced concern over the existence of new virus variants.

A labor court in the German city of Cologne has ruled that an employer was within its rights to terminate without notice an employee who presented forged vaccination documents to comply with company coronavirus rules. The court ruled the employee at a health consultancy firm had broken her obligation to customers and the company by flouting its vaccination requirement. The employee presented a fake vaccination document to her supervisor after the company announced that only fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to conduct personal customer consultations.

The UK parliament has voted to investigate Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ascertain whether he lied over breaking his own government's coronavirus lockdown rules. Johnson, who is currently under police and civil-service investigation over what has come to be known as the "partygate" scandal, claims he has nothing to hide and has refused to step down. Historically, contempt of parliament has been a resigning offense if proven.

Asia

Hong Kong has reopened gyms, beauty parlors, theme parks, and cinemas for the first time in over four months as COVID infections fell below 1,000 for the past six days, down from a peak of more than 70,000 on March 3.

The city also extended restaurant dining until 10 p.m. and lifted restrictions on group gatherings of up to four people. Several schools also resumed in-person classes after months of online learning.

Taiwan has approved a second COVID booster for people over the age of 65, as well as a third booster dose for the immunocompromised, including dialysis patients and those who have received organ transplants.

Residents of long-term care facilities can also get their second booster.

The government said those getting their boosters should get them at least five months after their last shot, choosing among the Moderna Inc, BioNTech-Pfizer, Taiwan-made Medigen or Novavax brands.

In mainland China, an Associated Press (AP) examination of coronavirus death toll numbers in Shanghai claims official statistics have been clouded by the way health authorities tally COVID-19 deaths. AP claims China applies far narrower, less transparent, and at times inconsistent standards than the rest of the world, leading to a far lower death toll. Whereas most countries, including the US, must count any death in which COVID-19 is a factor or contributor as a COVID-related death, Chinese health authorities count only those who die directly from COVID-19, excluding all others whose underlying conditions were worsened by the virus. 

Shanghai, a city of more than 25 million, has reported 25 coronavirus deaths during the course of a nearly two-month outbreak that has infected hundreds of thousands of people in the world's third-largest city. In response to questions about Shanghai's COVID-19 figures, China's National Health Commission said there is "no basis to suspect the accuracy of China's epidemic data and statistics."

Americas

The US Justice Department has appealed a federal judge's ruling that ended a mask mandate on public transportation and airplanes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the measure was still required. 

Earlier this week, the district judge had ruled that the 14-month-old mandate, which applied to planes, trains and other public transportation, was unlawful.

The US Justice Department has charged 21 people as a part of a nationwide push to root out people who exploited the pandemic through health care fraud schemes. The cases involved about $150 million in alleged false billings and theft from federal pandemic assistance programs. 

In New York, a federal district judge sentenced a Chinese man to more than four years in prison after he admitted to fraudulently attempting to secure $20 million (€18.5 million) in federal coronavirus-relief funds earmarked for distressed businesses. The judge said the prison term was necessary because of the seriousness of the crimes and the need for others to be warned against abusing government programs meant to help people in a national emergency.

More than $8 million in cash and other fraud proceeds was seized over the last 10 days.

US airlines say they have finally reached a turning point after years of flagging business as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Several carriers, including American Airlines, say they are seeing their biggest number of passengers since the coronavirus pandemic began.

On Thursday, American said that despite losing $1.64 billion (€1.5 billion) in the first quarter, it saw record sales in March giving hope that he company will again be profitable in Q2.

"Demand is as strong as we have ever seen it," said American CEO Robert Isom.

The Biden administration on Thursday said it would extend a requirement that non-US citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders be vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirements were first adopted in November as the US reopened land crossings to foreign tourists. These had been closed to most visitors since March 2020. Unlike international air travelers destined for the US, people traveling over land or sea do not need to provide a negative COVID-19 test.

Hospitals in Canada are canceling or postponing some medical procedures as the country braces for another wave of coronavirus infections. Health experts say it will take years to work through a growing backlog of procedures and could cost many more lives as exhausted health workers are becoming increasingly sick themselves, leading to staff shortages.

js,see/wmr (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)