Ghana launches universal QR code for cashless transactions to curb COVID-19 spread

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Two years ago, the Chinese city of Wuhan became the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic and its 11 million inhabitants were forced to stay home for 76 days. Today, not a single positive Covid-19 case has been reported in Wuhan for months and health rules there remain among the strictest in the country. Above all, authorities are focusing on their victory over the virus. According to the official version of events, the virus did not even originate in Wuhan but was imported from abroad. Our correspondents report.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the search for medications and treatment methods against the coronavirus has been intense. In the meantime, therapies and a small arsenal of medicines have proven effective.

With one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, Spain is looking at an exit strategy from the pandemic. Its government says it's time to start treating COVID-19 like any other endemic seasonal respiratory disease. DW's Jan-Philipp Scholz reports.

French teachers' unions called Monday for a second major strike this week to protest the government's Covid testing and isolation protocols, which they say are severely disrupting classes.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, has tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time and is now self-isolating.

Social media users are claiming that hospitals are using extremely realistic human dummies passing as fake Covid-19 patients. Their intention would be to show an increase in Covid-related hospitalisations. We sort the fact from the fake.

An estimated 10 million jobs were lost in the creative industries in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report from the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO. The organisation estimates that shutdowns and other restrictions incurred a loss of $750 billion to the global economy. The UN body is calling for better social protection for workers in the arts, many of whom lost their income for long periods during the pandemic. We discuss the report's findings with UNESCO's Berta de Sancristóbal.

Stock markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong slumped on Tuesday, as investors fear the impact of the latest Covid-19 lockdowns on China's economy. Nearly 30 million people are now living under restrictions in the country, including in the technology manufacturing hub of Shenzen. Also today, Volkswagen has suspended production of vehicles at some plants in Germany over a shortage of parts that are supplied from Ukraine.

The Bundestag lifted the requirement to wear a mask in most places, despite a record number of coronavirus infections. The move has been criticized by the opposition Christian Democatic Union.

Baky Meïté is a former captain of the Ivory Coast rugby team. Back in the spring of 2020, he put his rugby career on hold to work as a janitor in a geriatric hospital in Paris. He has now published a book, "Les Chiffons Bleus", as a tribute to his former colleagues who appear somewhat forgotten today. He joined us for Perspective.