Germany's EU presidency won't leave out climate policy even amid pandemic: Merkel

21:00, April 25, 2020

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  Germany not out of woods on coronavirus, says Merkel

  File photo: CGTNChancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged Germans to stay disciplined in fighting the coronavirus pandemic as the country began easing some curbs, warning that there was a long way to go before claiming victory."We stand at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods," she told journalists, saying that it would be a "crying shame if we were to stumble into a relapse with our eyes wide open".

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  Germany fully supports WHO-led global collaboration against pandemic: Merkel

  File photoBERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Germany is ready to fully support the campaign launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners on Friday to combat COVID-19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.The WHO, world leaders and philanthropists launched the initiative to speed up work on diagnostics and the development of a vaccine to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19. A pledging conference is scheduled to take place in early May."Germany will make a substantial contribution to this conference. I call on everyone to support this great global goal," Merkel said."We will only defeat this virus if we join forces and form a powerful alliance," Merkel stressed. "This concerns a global public good, to produce this vaccine and to distribute it in all parts of the world."Merkel said it is equally important to build up production capacity for a vaccine in as many places in the world as possible.She also urged everyone, "whether from politics or the private sector, who is in a position to support us," to close the campaigns financial gap.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, when addressing the launch of the initiative at a virtual event, said that the WHO and its partners aim to "ensure all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19.""This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19," Tedros said.Noting that research and development play a central role, the WHO chief said since January, the UN health body has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development.

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  People wear masks in Jerusalem amid coronavirus pandemic

  A woman wearing mask is seen in Jerusalem amid coronavirus pandemic on April 21, 2020. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) .People wearing masks are seen in Jerusalem amid coronavirus pandemic on April 21, 2020.