Germany has expanded curbs on social interactions to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, banning public gatherings of more than two people.

In a televised address, Chancellor Angela Merkel said “our own behavior” was the “most effective way” of slowing the rate of infection.

The measures included closing hair, beauty and massage studios. Other non-essential shops had already been shut.

Shortly afterward, Mrs. Merkel’s office said she would quarantine herself.

A doctor who vaccinated her on Friday against pneumococcus, a pneumonia-causing bacteria, had tested positive for coronavirus. The chancellor, 65, will be tested regularly in the next few days and work from home, her spokesman said.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has so far confirmed 18,610 cases and 55 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

What has Germany announced?

People will not be allowed to form groups of three or more in public unless they live together in the same household, or the gathering is work-related. Police will monitor and punish anyone infringing on the new rules.

Restaurants will now only be allowed to open for takeaway service. All restrictions apply to every German state and will be in place for at least the next two weeks.

“The great aim is to gain time in the fight against the virus,” said Mrs. Merkel, urging citizens to keep contact outside their own household to an absolute minimum and to ensure a distance of at least 1.5m (5ft) from another person when in public.

• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
• AVOIDING CONTACT: Should I self-isolate?
• STRESS: How to protect your mental health
• MAPS AND CHARTS: Visual guide to the outbreak
• VIDEO: The 20-second hand wash

What’s happening elsewhere in Europe?

Italy, the worst-hit European country, reported 651 new deaths on Sunday, bringing the total there to 5,476, according to the government. The figure is the second-worst daily total but less than that announced on the previous day.

The number of confirmed cases in the country – where people have been largely confined to their homes for two weeks – has risen from 53,578 to 59,138, the lowest rise in percentage terms since the outbreak began.

Earlier, President Sergio Mattarella said he hoped the rest of the world could learn from Italy’s troubles. He said citizens across the European Union needed to feel the bloc was taking concrete action to combat the virus.

Meanwhile, Spain registered its worst figures so far after 394 people died in a single day, bringing the national total to 1,720. Officials said the number of new daily registered cases, like Italy, had also fallen from Saturday to Sunday.

The government is seeking to extend the state of emergency until 11 April, a step that needs to be approved by parliament. The measure introduced on 14 March bars people from all but essential outings.

“We’re at war,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said, a day after warning that “the worst is yet to come”. Also on Sunday, the government announced it would restrict entry at air and seaports for most foreigners for the next 30 days.

In other developments:

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned people to follow the government’s advice or tougher restrictions would have to be implemented, as the number of deaths reached 281
• France recorded 112 new deaths, taking the number of dead there to 674
• The Netherlands and Greece also reported a surge in the number of deaths and cases

In the US, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned the outbreak would get worse, with damage accelerated by widespread shortages of key medical supplies. Across the country, there are now 31,057 confirmed cases and 390 deaths.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, more than 310,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed around the world, with some 13,000 deaths. More than 93,000 people have recovered.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51999080?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c77jz3md4rdt/germany&link_location=live-reporting-story

The post Coronavirus: Germany tightens curbs and bans meetings of more than two first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The center-right defense minister will replace Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 November.

She secured the backing of more than half of the members of the European Parliament on Tuesday evening.

The Commission drafts EU laws enforces EU rules and has the power to impose fines on member states if necessary.

“The trust you placed in me is the confidence you placed in Europe,” Mrs von der Leyen, who is the first woman to be elected president of the European Commission, said in a speech immediately after the vote.

“Your confidence in a united and strong Europe, from east to west, from south to north.”

“It is a big responsibility and my work starts now,” she added. “Let us work together constructively.”

• EU Commission: What is it and what does it do?
• Merkel ally chosen for EU top job

She was confirmed by a margin of 383 votes to 327. She needed the backing of 374 out of 747 MEPs to win.

A total of 751 MEPs were elected in May, but four were absent for Tuesday’s vote.

Born in Brussels, Mrs von der Leyen has seven children and trained as a gynecologist before entering politics.

The 60-year-old defense minister has been criticized in Germany over the armed forces’ persistent equipment shortages and what some consider to be her aloof management style.

She has promised to push for the EU to play a bigger role in social welfare, to tackle poverty, and has stressed that she would stand up for women’s rights.

She has also pledged in the past to allow a further extension of the UK’s withdrawal date from the EU “should more time be required for a good reason”.

In a speech in the European parliament earlier on Tuesday, Mrs von der Leyen made some other significant pledges:

• She would push to give the European Parliament “the right of initiative” – meaning the Commission would have to legislate on MEPs’ resolutions; currently, only the Commission can draft laws
• On irregular migration to the EU, she said she would boost the EU’s border force Frontex to 10,000 staff by 2024, but said “we need to preserve the right to asylum through humanitarian corridors”
• She offered an EU “reinsurance scheme” to bolster national insurance schemes for the unemployed.

Narrow victory could cause problems

Analysis by Damian Grammaticas, Europe Correspondent, BBC News

European leaders will be breathing a sigh of relief.

It took days of fraught negotiations and a difficult compromise among EU countries to nominate Mrs von der Leyen, a German conservative and close ally of Angela Merkel.

She scraped through with 383 votes, just nine more than the minimum. That may leave her in a weakened position, as it seems she was helped over the line by votes from Eurosceptic and right-wing MEPs in Poland and Italy.

Greens, on the other hand, did not vote for her. They said her commitments on climate change and saving the lives of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean were too weak. Socialists, too, were angered that their preferred candidate was overlooked by EU leaders.

So what does all this division mean? For a start, the European Commission Mrs von der Leyen will lead from November may have problems passing legislation through the parliament.

What is the reaction?

Figures from across the bloc have been quick to congratulate Mrs von der Leyen on her election victory.

“This job is a huge responsibility and a challenge. I am sure you will make a great president,” outgoing Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker wrote on Twitter.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute to her outgoing defense minister, who she described as a “committed and convincing European”.

“Even if I lose a long-standing minister today, I win a new partner in Brussels,” she said in a statement. “I am therefore looking forward to good co-operation.”

“About time we get a woman in that important position,” Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a tweet. “Time to continue work on the crucial issues: jobs, climate change, migration and security in Europe.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his congratulations and said: “Europe has to move forward. In this we have to work together, addressing the changes that the common project needs.”

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, tweeted a simple message:

Belgium’s leader – and incoming head of the European Council – Charles Michel said: “I wish to congratulate [Mrs von der Leyen]. Let’s work together in the interest of all Europeans.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49010801

The post Von der Leyen elected EU Commission head after MEPs vote first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.