The Trump administration offered large sums to a German company working on a coronavirus vaccine to make it available for exclusive use by the U.S., a German newspaper reported on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump approached scientists employed by CureVac, a German pharmaceutical company based in Tuebingen, and tried to lure them to work for the U.S., Welt am Sonntag reported.
Trump’s lucrative offer – reportedly of $1 billion – was explicitly made to secure any future vaccine “only for the U.S.,” the newspaper said, citing anonymous sources in the German government.
According to the report, the German government has countered the U.S. offer with its own funds in an attempt to keep the company in Germany.
When approached for comment, the German Health Ministry referred dpa to an earlier statement made to the paper:
“The government is very keen that a vaccine against the novel coronavirus is developed in Germany and in Europe,” a spokesperson said.
“The government is in intensive discussions to that end with the CureVac company,” the spokesperson added.
CureVac is reportedly working with the Paul Ehrlich Institute, a German body responsible for approving vaccines and pharmaceuticals, on a coronavirus vaccine.
In a report due to be published in the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper on Monday, CureVac’s investors said they would never consider working on an exclusive vaccine for the United States.
“We want to develop a vaccine for the whole world and not for individual states,” Christof Hettich, director and co-founder of dievini Hopp BioTech Holding, which is CureVac’s chief investor, told the paper.
Trump, on Sunday, told the public to stop panic-buying food and other supplies amid the coronavirus crisis, as his response to the outbreak came under fire.
“You don’t have to buy so much. Just relax,” he said at a White House news conference.
He said he spoke to retail executives, whose message to the U.S. public was to “buy a little bit less please,” that stores would stay open and the supply chain remain healthy.
“There’s no need for anybody in the country to hoard essentials,” Trump added.
His message came as people across the U.S. have cleared supermarket shelves of canned foods and toilet paper.
Online retail giant Amazon said it was “currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories.”
Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted the U.S. government’s response to the virus outbreak.
“If the federal government doesn’t realise this is the equivalent of a war already, there’s no way that the states and localities can make all the adjustments we need to,” de Blasio told broadcaster CNN.
Trump’s administration needed to take control of the supply chain of medical supplies and ramp up the country’s testing capacity, he added.
Later on Sunday, de Blasio announced the closure of the country’s largest public school system from Monday until at least April 20.
It will affect nearly 1,900 schools in New York, as the city joins a growing number of communities and states to shutter schools in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
He also announced that the city would close restaurants, bars, and cafes – apart from for delivery and take-out orders – as part of measures to limit the spread of the virus, authorities said.
Starting at 9 am (1400GMT) on Tuesday, nightclubs, cinemas, and concert venues “must all close,” de Blasio tweeted.
“This is not a decision I make lightly.
“But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality,” he wrote.
Washington state and the City of Los Angeles announced similar measures shortly after.
“Given the explosion of COVID-19 in our state and globally, I will sign a statewide emergency proclamation tomorrow to temporarily shut down restaurants, bars and entertainment and recreational facilities,” Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement.
Inslee also said that “all gatherings with over 50 participants are prohibited” and that the measures would be effective immediately in King County, the heart of the state’s outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in a statement on Sunday that gatherings of 50 people or more should be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks across the U.S.
Earlier on Sunday, Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State, which with more than 600 confirmed cases is among the worst hit in the country, urged Trump to mobilise the military to help fight the outbreak.
“Localise testing, federalise shutdowns and task the Army Corps of Engineers to expand hospital capacity,” Cuomo wrote in a New York Times opinion piece addressed to the president.
Trump, on Friday, declared a national emergency after he faced growing criticism for downplaying the virus in the earlier days of the outbreak.
The president also imposed a ban on most travel from Europe and announced enhanced screenings for passengers returning from there in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has now been confirmed in more than 3,200 people in the U.S., according to John Hopkins University data.
Airports across the U.S. were thrown into chaos on the weekend as they scrambled to implement the new rules and U.S. citizens rushed to get home.
Passengers from Europe, Iran, and China are being funnelled through 13 U.S airports, where their symptoms and medical histories are checked and they are instructed to self-quarantine.
Many U.S. citizens arriving at some of the country’s busiest travel hubs in New York, Dallas, and Chicago took to social media to express their anger at being forced to wait for hours in tightly-packed queues to be screened.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker tweeted that the crowds and lines at Chicago’s O’Hare airport were “unacceptable” and told the government to “get its s@#t together.”
Trump defended the “very precise” medical screenings being carried out.
“Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful.
We must get it right. Safety first!” the president tweeted.
Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said his agency “along with medical personnel are working diligently to address the longer than usual delays.”
Speaking on Sunday news shows, Anthony Fauci, one of the top U.S. officials handling the outbreak, said “we’d like to not see crowds like that,” and pointed to social distancing as a means of containing the spread of the virus.
“I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” Fauci warned, saying it could take “several weeks to a few months” for life to return back to normal in the U.S.
The outbreak has spread into nearly every area of social life, with a flurry of cancellations and closures announced in recent days, spanning Broadway theatres in New York, Disneyland in California, and major sporting events throughout the country.
Two U.S. states have postponed their presidential primary elections.
Streets across Europe were quiet on Sunday, as lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus prompted countries to tighten borders and people to avoid public spaces.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced a strict, nationwide curfew on Sunday, according to the APA news agency, with police patrols to enforce the measure already in effect.
Large groups, for example at playgrounds, would be asked to go home, according to the measures.
Beginning Monday, violators would be fined up to 2,000 euros (2,220 dollars), the chancellor’s office said.
The Austrian city of Eisenstadt, 60 kilometres south of Vienna, said city employees would be sent out to buy and deliver necessities such as food and prescription drugs to its sick and elderly population starting Monday.
Germany has confirmed it will close its border with Denmark early on Monday, as the country’s Deutsche Bahn rail service said it was cutting regional services due to a lack of passengers.
France announced that it would be gradually reducing long-distance plane, bus and train trips, encouraging people to travel only if absolutely necessary.
There were more than 5,000 cases in France as of Sunday, and 127 deaths.
The French Interior Ministry said Sunday it also wanted to reduce border traffic between Germany and France to the bare minimum to hinder the spread of the virus.
Any possible border measure between the two countries should allow commuters and commercial traffic to travel as usual, according to the ministry.
France is already carrying out targeted controls at its borders with all neighbouring countries.
Poland shut down its borders to non-citizens early Sunday, with exceptions made only for those with permanent residence permits, truck drivers and diplomats.
Polish citizens who return from abroad will be allowed in but must enter quarantine for 14 days.
Denmark’s borders closed at noon on Saturday, although deliveries of medicine, food and other important goods were allowed entry.
Danish police said that 3,748 people were checked after borders closed. Officers in southern Jutland reported that 149 people were denied entry on the first day that crossings to Germany were closed.
Foreigners without residency in Norway would be rejected at the borders when airports and ports partly close on Monday, the Norwegian government said.
Airports were not closing completely in order to allow citizens and people who live or work in Norway into the country. Outbound flights would also operate to allow tourists or foreign nationals to leave.
Germany and France have loosened up much-criticised export restrictions, Italian Economic Development Minister Stefano Patuanelli announced on Facebook on Sunday, allowing for personal sanitary protection gear to make its way to hard-hit Italy.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton added that the move was preceded by “intense discussions” with both countries.
The Economy Ministry in Berlin confirmed Patuanelli’s announcement.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday the government had ordered from China an additional 140 ventilators and 5 million face masks to fight the outbreak amid acute shortages of both items.
The Vatican, in an unprecedented move in modern times, said that Pope Francis would not lead any public rites during the Holy Week leading up to Easter, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, countries across the continent announced growing death tolls and infection numbers.
Italy, the world’s worst-affected country outside of China, reported 368 new coronavirus fatalities on Sunday, the largest death toll increase since the start of the outbreak on February 20.
Compared to Saturday, the death toll has risen by more than 25 per cent to 1,809, and infections were up by 17 per cent to reach 24,747.
The fatality rate, particularly high in Italy, is 7.3 per cent.
Spain’s outbreak continued to worsen, with the country reporting almost 100 new virus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 288. Spain now has 7,753 cases of the disease, making it the second-worst hit European nation after Italy.
The near-doubling of deaths comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a wide-reaching state of emergency that would limit citizens’ movement in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
Sanchez’ wife tested positive for coronavirus, the government said late Saturday.
Maria Begona Gomez is doing well, it added, and she and the head of state had followed all the doctor’s instructions at their Madrid residence.
The Czech Republic has recorded 253 cases of the virus, according to health ministry data.
The country will impose restrictive measures starting on Monday.
Slovakia has so far recorded 61 cases of the new coronavirus and declared a state of emergency for hospitals and the closure of some stores starting Monday.
Serbia, where there are 48 confirmed cases, declared a state of emergency Sunday, after limiting prices of food, disinfectant and protective gear earlier in the day.
Poland recorded 19 new cases on Sunday, putting the total at 123, including three fatalities, according to the Health Ministry.
Sweden, which now has 992 cases of the virus, recorded its third death and Hungary, where 32 people are infected, its first death.
