COVID: Germany expands high-risk areas to Romania, Lithuania

Germany has added Romania and Lithuania to a list of high-risk areas for COVID-19 under new guidelines issued by the foreign office that take effect on Sunday. The Berlin-based office also warned against "unnecessary tourist trips" to both countries.

If not vaccinated or recently recovered, all people entering Germany from Romania or Lithuania have to undergo a 10-day quarantine, with a possibility to leave after five days if they have a negative COVID test.

Up until the addition of Romania and Lithuania, Slovenia was the only European Union member state on the high-risk area list. About 70 other countries are also wholly or partially on the risk list.

The decision to classify countries as high-risk areas is dependent on a range of factors, including a particularly high risk of infection and the speed at which the virus is spreading, as well as the burden it has put on the country's health care system.

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI), Germany has recorded 6,164 new infections in the latest one-day period, taking the country's total tally to 4,252,300. Nine more deaths were reported.

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

Americas

In the United States, Alaska has activated emergency crisis protocols, which will allow 20 health care facilities to ration care if needed. The move comes as the state recorded the country's worst COVID-19 diagnosis rates in recent days, putting immense strain on its limited health care system. 

The decision covers three facilities where an emergency protocol was already activated, including the state's largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Thousands of people across major cities in Brazil took to the streets on Saturday to protest President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus crisis. Nearly 600,000 people have died of the disease in the country.

The protesters called for the impeachment of the president, who has been accused of underestimating the severity of the virus. Bolsonaro has not been vaccinated and routinely makes appearances without a face mask.

Europe

Jürgen Klopp, manager of English football club Liverpool, has said refusing the vaccine was like drunken driving, as such actions could endanger other people. 

"We all probably were in a situation where we had a beer or two and thought we still could drive but [because of] the law, we are not allowed to drive so we don't drive," explained the former Borussia Dortmund boss.

"But this law is not there for protecting me when I drink two beers and want to drive, it's for protecting all the other people because I'm drunk and we accept that as a law."

Klopp said 99% of his Liverpool players were vaccinated without him having to convince anyone to do so. However, only seven of the 20 Premier League clubs have squads where more than 50% of players are vaccinated, British media reported last week.

Oceania

New Zealand has tightened border restrictions on Sunday, as the country records new infections in areas that were free of the virus.

"We are introducing the requirement for air travelers aged 17 and over, who are not New Zealand citizens, to be fully vaccinated to enter New Zealand," said Chris Hipkins, the country's COVID-19 response minister.

The latest restrictions come as the city of Hamilton and neighboring town Raglan were put under a snap, five-day lockdown after two people tested positive. The cases are not believed to be linked to the outbreak in Auckland, 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) to the north.

The ongoing outbreak of the virus in Australia has spread outside the two most populous states, with over 1,900 new infections of the delta variant reported on Sunday.

While 1,887 cases and 13 deaths were reported in the states of Victoria and New South Wales, the island state of Tasmania also recorded a new local infection. New cases were also reported in the South Australia state over the weekend.

In a bit to promote vaccinations in the country, philanthropists and corporations have launched an initiative that offers a cash prize of 1 million Australian dollars (€625,000/$724,000) for those who get vaccinated against the virus.

Under the Million Dollar Vax campaign, a $1-million cash prize ticket will be drawn on November 5. In addition, around 3,100 gift cards worth $1,000 each will be drawn through this month.

see/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)