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The opposition candidate in Moldova is the projected winner of the runoff presidential election. With almost all the vote counted by Sunday evening, pro-European Maia Sandu was leading with about 57% of the vote, compared to incumbent, pro-Russian president Igor Dodon’s 43%, according to results published on the Moldovan Central Election Commission website.   Sandu, 48, a former prime minister and a former World Bank employee, ran for Moldova’s top job with a pro-European political platform against a president who had promised to keep close ties with Moscow as a traditionally “strategic partner.” Her supporters celebrated overnight in front of opposition headquarters in the center of the capital Chisinau and were chanting “President Maia Sandu” and “a country for young people.”Incumbent Moldovan President Igor Dodon and his wife Galina smile while walking out of a voting station during the country’s presidential election runoff in Chisinau, Moldova, Nov. 15, 2020.Dodon, 45, who was the economy minister under a communist government between 2006 and 2009, said he “voted for peace, social justice and Christian values.”  “We must maintain good relations with the European Union and with Russia,” Dodan said. In the first round of voting on November 1, Sandu, the center-right politician caught the incumbent president by surprise, although she did not garner enough votes to avoid the runoff.   Moldova, a Soviet republic until 1991, with a population of a little more than 3.5 million, has long been divided between those who promote strong ties with the European Union and those who favor close relations with Moscow.  
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Belarusian police detained more than 1,000 people Sunday during protests across the country demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko and a new election following a disputed vote in August.The Vyasna human rights group said most detentions were made in Minsk, where black-clad security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of demonstrators. Two people were beaten by masked security officers inside a grocery store.At least 18 journalists, including four contributors to RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, were among those detained in Minsk and other cities, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.BelarusTikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the vote amid threats to her and her family.Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, has faced almost daily protests calling for his resignation since a presidential election August 9 that the opposition says was rigged and which the West has refused to accept.Belarusian riot police block the road to stop demonstrators during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Nov. 15, 2020.Russia, meanwhile, has supported Lukashenko in the ongoing standoff.Lukashenka vowed Friday not to hand over power and slammed his political opponents and demonstrators.Lukashenko said his country should integrate with Russia and Moscow-led organizations to avoid what he called “color revolutions,” a term often used to describe pro-Western political upheavals.His remarks came as the European Union again condemned violent crackdowns against Belarusian protesters and threatened to impose more sanctions on Minsk following the death of Bandarenka.Several protesters have been killed and thousands of people arrested since authorities declared Lukashenka the landslide winner of the vote.There have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.Most of the country’s opposition have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is self-isolating after being told he came into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Sunday.”He will carry on working from Downing Street, including on leading the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic,” a statement from his office said.Johnson “is well and does not have any symptoms of COVID-19,” it added.Johnson met with a small group of lawmakers for about a half-hour on Thursday, including one who subsequently developed coronavirus symptoms and tested positive.He was notified by the National Health Service’s Test and Trace system Sunday and told he should self-isolate because of factors including the length of the meeting.Officials said they will discuss with parliamentary authorities how Johnson can take part remotely in parliament’s business. He plans to “continue speaking to the country during his self-isolation period,” they added.The statement didn’t say how long Johnson plans to isolate, but U.K. health authorities’ guidance is that anyone contacted by Test and Trace should quarantine for 14 days.In April, Johnson was hospitalized in intensive care after contracting the coronavirus.
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Belarusian police have detained scores of protesters who were demanding the resignation of Alexander Lukashenko and a new presidential election following a disputed vote in August.Black-clad security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of demonstrators in the capital, Minsk, on Sunday.The Vyasna human rights group said at least 179 protesters were detained in Minsk and other cities, including in Homel, Hrodna, and Mogilev.Demonstrators in Minsk carried the banned white-red-white flags that have become a symbol of the political opposition in Belarus and chanted slogans like, “Lukashenko! Tribunal!” and “Love live Belarus!”Mobile Internet was down and several subway stations in central Minsk were closed.FILE – Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, leader of the opposition from Belarus, speaks to the media during a press statement in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 6, 2020. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, who has said the vote was rigged in Lukashenko’s favor and considers herself the rightful winner, described the crackdown on protesters on November 15 with “gas, grenades and firearms” as “devastating” and called for international support for the demonstrators.”We ask our allies to stand up for the Belarusian people and human rights. We need a humanitarian corridor for the injured, support for the media, international investigation of crimes,” she wrote on Twitter.Tikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the vote amid threats to her and her family.Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, has faced almost daily protests calling for his resignation since a presidential election on August 9 that the opposition says was rigged and which the West has refused to accept.Russia, meanwhile, has supported Lukashenko in the ongoing standoff.Lukashenka on November 13 vowed not to hand over power and slammed his political opponents and demonstrators.Lukashenko said his country should integrate with Russia and Moscow-led organizations to avoid what he called “color revolutions” — a term often used to describe pro-Western political upheavals.His remarks came as the European Union again condemned violent crackdowns against Belarusian protesters and threatened to impose more sanctions on Minsk following the death of a 31-year-old Belarusian man on November 12 who is believed to have been badly beaten by masked security forces.Several protesters have been killed and thousands of people arrested since authorities declared Lukashenka the landslide winner of the vote.There have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.Most of the country’s opposition have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
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The U.N. human rights office says the government of Belarus continues to commit human rights violations with impunity against peaceful protesters three months after the country’s disputed presidential elections.Belarusian citizens remain outraged at the outcome of the August 9 presidential election that returned Alexander Lukashenko to power in an election widely seen as fraudulent. They continue to voice their grievances by taking to the streets in protest.U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said the government has responded to these peaceful demonstrations in a heavy-handed manner, with the use of unnecessary or excessive force by law enforcement officials.“Arbitrary mass detentions continue. To date, it is estimated more than 25,000 people have been detained, including more than 1,000 who took part in solidarity protests in the capital, Minsk, and throughout Belarus on the 8th of November. Many of those detained have faced administrative charges, in some cases being held for up to 15 days, but the Belarusian authorities are increasingly bringing criminal charges against people,” he said.Colville said at least 127 students taking part in demonstrations have been expelled from their courses. He said dozens of medical workers and doctors in solidarity with the opposition have been detained. He said the government reportedly has frozen the bank accounts of a charity assisting some 60 alleged victims of violence and torture.On Thursday, a 31-year-old man, Roman Bondarenko, reportedly died after he allegedly was assaulted by masked men and ill-treated by a member of the security forces. Belarusian officials have denied any role in the death.People gather to honor 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka, who died at a Minsk hospital after several hours of surgery due to serious injuries in Minsk, Belarus, Nov. 13, 2020.If the allegations are proven to be true, Colville said Bondarenko’s death takes government abuse to a whole new level.“The latest statement from the investigative committee – is an investigative body in Belarus continues to indicate that the authorities for now do not acknowledge that those who attacked Mr. Bondarenko were police officers or otherwise associated with the security apparatus,” he said.The U.N human rights office is calling on the Belarusian authorities to conduct a thorough, independent investigation into this incident and to publicly share its results. It says the perpetrator should be brought to justice if a crime was found to have been committed.President Lukashenko, meanwhile, denies that the election was fraudulent and refuses to step down. 
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In an unassuming house in rolling hills east of the Hungarian capital, a small family firm is helping oil the wheels of the world’s big pharmaceutical companies on the path to a coronavirus vaccine. Biologist Noemi Lukacs, 71, retired to Szirak, her birth village, to establish English & Scientific Consulting (SciCons) and manufacture a genetic sensor so sensitive that a few grams can supply the entire global industry for a year. “We produce monoclonal antibodies,” Lukacs told Reuters in the single-story house where she was born, now partly converted into a world-class laboratory. The white powder ships worldwide from here, micrograms at a time. “These antibodies recognize double-stranded RNA [dsRNA],” she explained. DsRNA is a byproduct of viruses replicating, so its presence signals the presence of a live virus, long useful in virus-related research. More importantly, dsRNA is also a byproduct of the process used by U.S. giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech to create their experimental COVID-19 vaccine which is more than 90% effective according to initial trial results last week.And because dsRNA can be harmful to human cells, it must be filtered out from any vaccine to be used in humans. Several filtering methods exist, but the most widely used way to do quality control is to expose the vaccine to Lukacs’ antibodies. Not only will the antibodies show if there is any dsRNA in the vaccine, they will also tell researchers how much of it is present. Only once completely freed from dsRNA can the vaccine be administered. The result: a line of big pharma representatives outside her door. Hungarian biologists Alexandra Torok and Noemi Lukacs check the purity of an antibody, a genetic sensor of sorts, in Szirak, Hungary, Nov. 13, 2020.The small company is growing rapidly, yet its revenue was only 124 million forints (just over $400,000) last year, with profits at 52 million forints. That feeds five employees and even leaves some for local charity projects in Szirak. To Lukacs, that is just fine. The success of the RNA field, long frowned upon, is vindication enough. Dog in the race The former university professor followed the race to the vaccine closely and rooted especially for the contestants who look set to come first: those using modified RNA to train cells of the human body to recognize and kill the coronavirus. The RNA was her dog in the race. The modified RNA, or mRNA, methodology is a whole new group of drugs, with the COVID vaccine the first product likely to get regulatory approval and go into mass production. But more applications are expected, which has Lukacs overjoyed. “Once you get into the RNA field, it is an extremely exciting area,” she said, recalling decades of struggles when the rest of the scientific community did not share her excitement. Or most of the rest, that is. Another Hungarian woman, Katalin Kariko, working across the Atlantic, patented the method that enables the use of RNA and promises to free the world not only of the coronavirus but scores of other diseases. In the process, Kariko — now the Vice President of Germany’s BioNTech, which was first alongside U.S. giant Pfizer to break through with a vaccine earlier this month  — became an early SciCons customer. The COVID breakthrough and other RNA uses may necessitate more use of Lukacs’s antibodies as well, but they do not anticipate much of a boon. “We would be happy to sell more of it,” said Johanna Symmons, her daughter and the small company’s chief executive. “We probably will too. But it’s not like we’ll get silly rich.” Being part of the solution reaps its own rewards. “We have cooperated with most vaccine manufacturers, and certainly almost all of the ones using the mRNA method,” she said with a hint of pride. “We have been a small screw in this large machine.”    
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A two-year-old Belgian racing pigeon called New Kim set a world record of 1.6 million euros ($1.89 million) at an auction that ended on Sunday, the online auction house said. Offers for the pigeon had already hit 1.32 million euros in the past week, surpassing the previous record of 1.252 million euros set in March 2019 for another Belgian pigeon, Armando. They then raced even higher in a frantic last 30 minutes of bidding on Sunday. “These record prices are unbelievable, because this is a female. Armando was a male. Usually a male is worth more than a female because it can produce more offspring,” Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, CEO and founder of Pipa told Reuters Television. Gyselbrecht said New Kim was only two years old and only raced in 2018, earning the title of best young bird in Belgium and prompting an early retirement. Pigeons can typically breed until 10 so New Kim has many years of chicks ahead. Bidding started at 200 euros on Nov. 2, but rose to a bid of 1.31 million euros from a South African group within 90 minutes. Two wealthy Chinese collectors then fought it out on Sunday. “The only thing I can see is we are in total shock,” said Kurt Van de Wouwer, whose family bred and own New Kim. Chinese enthusiasm for long-distance racing of homing pigeons has driven prices up sharply, with birds from the traditional heartland of the sport in Belgium being particularly prized. Gyselbrecht said no other country had such a high concentration of pigeon enthusiasts as Belgium. “So you have 20,000 pigeon fanciers in a very small country competing with each other on a very high level. It’s like the Champions League,” he said, referring to European soccer’s elite club competition. 
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The leader of Armenia’s opposition Homeland party, Artur Vanetsyan, has been arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the government and kill the country’s embattled prime minister, as the country’s main security body said it had thwarted an assassination attempt.Vanetsyan, who formerly headed Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), was detained after his arrival for a meeting with the service’s Investigative Department on Saturday, according to his lawyer.”Vanetsyan was detained on suspicion of usurping power and preparing the assassination of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,” attorney Lusine Sahakian wrote on Facebook.In addition, Sahakian wrote, “illegal searches” were carried out in the apartment of Vanetsyan’s parents and an office affiliated with the Homeland party.Both Sahakian and Vanetsyan’s Homeland party condemned the moves as politically motivated.NSS statementThe NSS has not confirmed Vanetsyan’s arrest, but in a statement Saturday it said that it had thwarted an assassination attempt against Pashinyan.”The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia has revealed cases of illegal acquisition and storage of weapons, ammunition and explosives by a group of people with the aim of seizing power in the Republic of Armenia,” the statement said. “It is clarified that the attackers, who did not agree with the domestic and foreign policy of the state, intended to seize power by killing the head of government.”The Homeland party said in a statement that Vanetsyan’s arrest was part of the Armenian authorities’ efforts to quell opposition protests against a Russia-mediated cease-fire agreement that stopped fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.Pashinyan’s agreement to the truce with Azerbaijan on Tuesday prompted a furious reaction in the Armenian capital, with protesters storming government buildings and parliament.Homeland is one of 17 Armenian opposition groups that launched the protests and demanded Pashinyan’s resignation. They accuse Pashinyan of capitulating to Azerbaijan and committing high treason.10 arrestsOn Wednesday, 10 prominent opposition figures, including Vanetsyan, were arrested and accused of “organizing illegal violent mass disorder.” The detentions were denounced by the opposition as illegal, and the opposition figures were released two days later.Vanetsyan, 40, was appointed as head of the NSS immediately after the 2018 revolution that brought Pashinyan to power. He quickly became an influential member of Pashinyan’s entourage, overseeing high-profile corruption investigations initiated by Armenia’s new leadership.Vanetsyan resigned in September 2019 after a falling out with the prime minister. He has since repeatedly accused Pashinyan of incompetence and misrule, prompting angry responses from the premier and his political allies.While the Moscow-brokered truce ended fighting that has killed more than 2,000 soldiers and civilians on each side, it has been rejected by Armenians because it allows Azerbaijan to keep large swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh.Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but its majority Armenian population has governed its own affairs since Azerbaijani troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.The most recent fighting broke out in late September.
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In a bitter farewell to his home of 21 years, Garo Dadevusyan wrenched off its metal roof and prepared to set the stone house on fire. Thick smoke poured from houses that his neighbors had already torched before fleeing this ethnic Armenian village about to come under Azerbaijani control.The village is to be turned over to Azerbaijan on Sunday as part of territorial concessions in an agreement to end six weeks of intense fighting with Armenian forces. The move gripped its 600 people with fear and anger so deep that they destroyed the homes they once loved.The settlement — called Karvachar in Armenian — is legally part of Azerbaijan, but it has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since the 1994 end of a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. That war left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.After years in which sporadic clashes broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, full-scale fighting began in late September this year. Azerbaijan made relentless military advances, culminating in the seizure of the city of Shusha, a strategically key city and one of strong emotional significance as a longtime center of Azeri culture.Two days after Azerbaijan announced it had taken Shusha, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russia-brokered cease-fire under which territory that Armenia occupies outside the formal borders of Nagorno-Karabakh will be gradually ceded.Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians once lived together in these regions, however uneasily. Although the cease-fire ends the fighting, it aggravates ethnic animosity.Garo Dadevusyan, right, wrenches off its metal roof and prepares to set the stone house on fire in Kalbajar before leaving the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, Nov. 14, 2020. The village is to be turned over to Azerbaijan Nov. 15.”In the end, we will blow it up or set it on fire, in order not to leave anything to Muslims,” Dadevusyan said of his house.He spoke while taking a rest from salvaging what he could from the home, including metal roof panels, and piling it onto an old flatbed truck.The truck’s final destination was unclear.”We are homeless now, do not know where to go and where to live. Do not know where to live. It is very hard,” Dadevusyan’s wife, Lusine, said, choked by tears as the couple gave the interior of the house a last look.Dadevusyan’s dismay extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Armenia and Russia keep close relations and Russia has a sizable military base in Armenia, so many Armenians had hoped for support from Moscow. Instead, Russia facilitated the cease-fire and territorial concessions and is sending in nearly 2,000 peacekeepers to enforce it.”Why has Putin abandoned us?” Dadevusyan asked.Cars and trucks stuck in a huge traffic jam climb along the road from Kalbajar to a mountain pass leaving the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, Nov. 14, 2020.On Saturday, kilometers-long columns of cars and trucks carrying fleeing residents jammed the road to Armenia.Scores of local people flocked to Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery dating to the ninth century, as priests removed sacred items to be taken away. Many of the visitors took photos of themselves at the site nestled in the mountains near Karvachar, suggesting they did not expect to see it again.People look at bells, removed from the Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery dating to the ninth century, as ethnic Armenians leave the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, Nov. 14, 2020.A small group of Russian peacekeepers watched from across the road, some sitting on their armored vehicles.The monastery’s abbot, the Reverend Hovhannes Ter-Hovhannisyan, walked over to greet them.”It’s very important to us that the Russian peacekeepers came today in order to preserve peace, because not all the questions of our future have been resolved,” he said. “But I am sure that justice will triumph.”Hundreds of thousands of Azeris were displaced by the war that ended in 1994. It is unclear when any civilians might try to settle in Karvachar — which will now be known by its Azeri name, Kalbajar — or elsewhere.Any returns could be wrenching. Settlers will confront the burned, empty shells of houses — or worse. Agdam, which is to be turned over next week, once was a city of about 40,000, but now is an empty sprawl of buildings that were destroyed in the first war or later ruined by pillagers grabbing building materials.Returning also is potentially dangerous because of the remnants of war. The Azerbaijani general prosecutor’s office said one man was killed and another injured Saturday when they triggered a mine left over from the fighting in Fizuli, an area now under Azerbaijani control.For the Dadevusyans, their sudden relocation is overwhelming beyond words.”When you spent 21 years here and now need to leave it … ,” Garo Dadevusyan said, trailing off, as smoke from nearby burning houses choked the air. Soon, he knew, his house would be one of them.
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Demonstrators on the Canary Islands on Saturday demanded better living conditions for thousands of migrants who have reached the Spanish archipelago from Africa.A slow procession of hundreds of demonstrators, some on foot and some in cars, crossed the island of Gran Canaria before reaching the Arguineguin dock in the town of Mogan, where nearly 2,000 migrants are living in tents in conditions that an immigration judge has called “inhumane and degrading.”Canary Islands, SpainOver 700 migrants in small boats were rescued Saturday, coast guards said, bringing the number of people who have reached the islands by the dangerous Atlantic route from Africa to nearly 17,000 this year — more than 10 times last year’s total.Deepening economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic is pushing more people in developing nations to seek better lives elsewhere, while tightened security in the Mediterranean means more migrants are attempting the Atlantic crossing, with many dying along the way.”We are here fighting for a more dignified reception for these people who arrive in our island to find a better life,” said one demonstrator, teacher Famara Brito.Aid groups estimate about 4,000 migrants are living in tourist hotels because of the lack of refugee reception centers. The Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Enterprises of Gran Canaria called on the government Saturday to act so hotels could be used again for tourists.Spain’s regional policy minister said Friday that it would expand naval patrols around the Canary Islands and set up more migrant centers in response to the surge in arrivals.
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European and world leaders Thursday insisted that when COVID-19 vaccines are ready they should be made available to everyone, under an international project that still needs $28 billion. “We aren’t going to beat the virus if we abandon part of humanity,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the Paris Peace Forum, which seeks concrete solutions to global issues. The third edition of the forum is dedicated to finding ways to ease the pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day international conference aims to raise more than $500 million toward ensuring fair access to coronavirus tests, treatment and vaccines for all, including poor countries. European and world leaders attend The Paris Peace Forum at The Elysee Palace in Paris, Nov. 12, 2020.It takes place as the number of cases is increasing rapidly across Europe and beyond but with hopes rising for the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine, perhaps even before the end of the year, Top U.S. government scientist Anthony Fauci said Thursday the coronavirus vaccine “cavalry” was on its way, bringing fresh hope as the world registered more than 10,000 deaths in just 24 hours, a record. The world-leading expert on infectious diseases said that after this week’s much-trumpeted news that a vaccine developed by U.S. drug giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech was 90% effective, another is “literally on the threshold of being announced.” ‘Financing gap’  During the online Paris forum, several countries are expected to announce funding for the so-called ACT-Accelerator, a mechanism led by the World Health Organization that aims to ensure access to tests, treatments and vaccines for all. In September, the United Nations estimated that the ACT-Accelerator had received only about $3 billion of the $38 billion needed to meet the goal of producing and delivering 2 billion vaccine doses, 245 million treatments and 500 million diagnostic tests over the next year. On Thursday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a “financing gap” of $28.5 billion remains and that $4.5 billion is urgently required “to maintain momentum.” “The international community must ensure that fair and equitable access to a vaccine is ensured for everyone,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Chinese President Xi Jinping exhorted world leaders to “put human life above everything … and provide a targeted and concerted response” to the health crisis. Senegal’s President Macky Sall attends The Paris Peace Forum at The Elysee Palace in Paris, Nov. 12, 2020.Senegalese President Macky Sall asked for assurances that enough doses of a virus vaccine would be produced and would reach the poorest countries “which have the most need.” Senegal, a poor nation with a population of about 16 million people, has so far been spared a large coronavirus outbreak. Biggest public health effort in history Day one of the meeting saw France offer 100 million euros, with another 50 million euros pledged by Spain and 100 million euros from the European Commission. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $70 million, bringing its total donations to $226 million for the vaccine project. “We are talking about the largest public health effort in the history of the world and it won’t be unexpensive,” Melinda Gates said. The British government is also set to declare a contribution of one British pound for each $4 announced. Paris Forum members also promised the creation of a high-level expert panel that would curate all available science concerning the interactions between humans, animals and changes in the environment. “The pandemic showed us how much correlation there is between the health of humans, that of animals, and that of the planet,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the forum. At the finance part of the forum, a group of development banks pledged to refocus their investments to take into account climate and development targets set by the U.N. and the Paris accord of 2015. Public development banks invest $2.3 trillion every year, 10% of the world’s total investments. The banks also promised to promote projects that reduce inequalities, protect the environment and pursue “sustainable development” goals, without offering examples. 
 
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Pope Francis applauded Joe Biden’s projected U.S. presidential victory and offered him blessings during a phone conversation Thursday, according to Biden’s transition team.“The president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’ leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation and common bonds of humanity around the world,” the transition team said in a statement.Biden also expressed a desire to collaborate with the pope to advance “a shared belief in the dignity and equality of all humankind on issues such as caring for the marginalized and the poor, addressing the crisis of climate change, and welcoming and integrating immigrants.”Biden is the second Catholic to be elected U.S. president. Democrat John F. Kennedy was the first to win the White House, in 1960.The president-elect has also spoken this week with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
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The head of Germany’s infectious disease institute said Thursday that while the COVID-19 threat in the country remains high, and some hospitals are reaching capacity, he is cautiously optimistic. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Lothar Wieler, president of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, said the nation as of early Thursday had recorded 21,866 new cases of coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours. According to Johns Hopkins University, Germany has reported nearly 750,000 cases since the pandemic began and more than 12,000 deaths. Although infections continue to rise, he said, “what makes me cautiously optimistic is the fact that the number of cases has been increasing at a slightly slower rate for some days now. So, the curve is going up a little less steeply — it is flattening out.” FILE – A nurse treats a patient with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit of Bethel Hospital in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 11, 2020.Wieler said he did not know if that was a stable development that can continue. But he insisted it shows “we are not helplessly at the mercy of the virus,” and measures the government has taken do make a difference. On November 2, Germany implemented a four-week partial shutdown to bring the rate of new infections under control. Restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities have closed, but schools and nonessential shops remain open. Wieler noted that the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has doubled in the past two weeks. He added that the situation is likely to worsen before it improves. “It is possible that patients may no longer be able to receive optimal care everywhere,” he said. “We must therefore prevent the situation from worsening further. That is my expectation, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this goal.” Wieler said that nearly half of hospitals responding to his institute are reporting limited availability of ventilator treatment, mostly because of staffing issues caused by infections or quarantine. Although Germany has enough beds and ventilators available nationwide, many German hospitals are currently “working at the limits of their capacity,” said Uwe Janssens, president of Germany’s Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Janssens described a shortage of medical personnel trained to provide anesthesia- and ventilation-based treatments as a “key problem.” “Where it is medically justified, procedures must be halted and postponed,” Janssens said, encouraging medical facilities’ need to conserve resources. 
 
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