Up to 70% of the population is likely to be infected with the coronavirus that is currently spreading around the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that since there was currently no cure the focus had to be on slowing its spread.
“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population will be infected,” she told a news conference in Berlin.
“The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’s spread … It’s about winning time.”
Merkel spoke after mass-selling daily Bild lambasted her for her handling of what it called ‘the corona chaos’: “No appearances, no speech, no leadership in the crisis,” it wrote.
Health Minister Jens Spahn has led the response, and said earlier that sealing Germany’s borders to prevent the virus spreading would not work, rejecting calls to follow neighbor Austria in denying entry to visitors from Italy.
Germany has reported 1,296 cases of the virus, and two deaths, the Robert Koch Institute said late on Tuesday.
Read more via Reuters
Sales of Chinese-made hybrid cars have risen dramatically across the European Union, raising concerns about the competitiveness of Europe's automotive industry. Only 659 Chinese full hyb...
Royal Caribbean has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, valuing the resort business at $6 billion. The transaction is the cruise operator's lar...
Updated 1140
Victoria Chosen as European Capital of Culture 2031: The European Commission has recommended Victoria (Rabat), Gozo as Malta’s European Capital of Culture for 2031, follo...
Updated 1200
Malta Leads EU in SME Labour Shortages as Firms Turn to Non-EU Workers: Malta has the EU’s highest share of SMEs struggling to recruit skilled workers, with 66% reporting...
The European Commission has unveiled an ambitious package of tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax rules across the European Union, reducing compliance burdens for businesses and strength...
The European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact enters into force on 12 June, ushering in the most significant reform of the bloc's migration framework in years and placing renewed em...
Sales of Chinese-made hybrid cars have risen dramatically across the European Union, raising concerns about the competitiveness of Europe's automotive industry. Only 659 Chinese full hyb...
Royal Caribbean has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, valuing the resort business at $6 billion. The transaction is the cruise operator's lar...
Artificial intelligence has already transformed industries such as finance and education, but one of its most important tests may come in medicine: discovering new drugs.
Pharmaceutic...
Malta’s new pay transparency regulations, which came into effect on the 5th of June, aim to strengthen fairness and equality in the workplace, but employers are warning that the rushed i...
Malta Public Transport will operate a special bus service during the Science in the City festival, taking place this Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 2026 at Triton Square. The additi...
Malta Public Transport is encouraging passengers attending Una Notte Con Le Stelle at The Granaries, Floriana, on Saturday 5 September to make use of the regular night bus services opera...
Fears of renewed escalation gripped the Middle East on Wednesday after the United States and Iran exchanged their biggest barrage since July, with Washington striking Iran's southern co...
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he had called off planned U.S. strikes on Iran, saying renewed negotiations had raised hopes of easing the conflict and reopening ship...
At least 32 people have been killed and more than 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 — struck central Venezuela seconds apart, causing widespread destruct...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he expected Moscow to escalate the war in "in the coming weeks", following Russian strikes that hit a Warsaw-bound train in Ukraine, just two kil...
The departure from Moldova of a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Norway was delayed when authorities closed the country's airspace over a drone alert, a Moldov...
