(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong issued quarantine-free rules for limited business trips to mainland China, while its tightened quarantine policy for travelers from the U.S. causes more angst. Cases jumped in Australia’s most-populous state and the Asian Development Bank cut its economic growth forecast.
California is reimposing an indoor mask mandate as omicron spreads, while U.S. cases topped 50 million, meaning about 15% of the population has tested positive for the virus. The U.K. said one person has died from omicron. Overall cases jumped in Germany.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. told London staffers to work from home if they can. Fidelity Investments paused a return-to-office plan in New England, as did Bank of Nova Scotia in Ontario.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 270.7 million; deaths top 5.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 8.48 billion shots given
- What will Covid do next? One doctor has ideas: Michael Lewis
- The high-stakes effort to prevent the next pandemic (Podcast)
- Drugmakers race to create omicron booster in 100 days
- Two weeks into the omicron outbreak: where to from here?
- Rich business owners rethinking retirement in pandemic’s fallout
- Travelers from U.S. face Hong Kong quarantine camp
ADB Cuts Developing Asia GDP Outlook (9:35 a.m. HK)
The Asian Development Bank cut economic growth forecasts for developing Asia, as the emergence of the omicron variant and rising coronavirus infections globally show the pandemic is far from over.
The region’s gross domestic product will expand 7% this year, down a notch from the 7.1% forecast in September, the ADB said in its Asian Development Outlook Supplement released Tuesday. The expansion will mark a course reversal from last year’s 0.1% contraction, and will moderate to 5.3% in 2022 — slower than the 5.4% previously estimated.
China Reports Another 55 Cases (9:25 a.m. HK)
China reported 55 domestic infections on Tuesday, with most cases coming from the eastern province Zhejiang. The flareup there is the latest of a slew of clusters that form and ebb across the country, extending authorities’ fight to curb the virus’ spread to nearly two months.
The flareup in Zhejiang has spawned nearly 200 cases over the past 10 days and spread across three cities in the province, including provincial capital Hangzhou. The virus’ spread has caused factories in those cities to halt production while local authorities said they will extend cross-country travel restrictions for some of the virus hot spots to mid-March.
Malaysia Conditionally Approves Ronapreve for Treatment (9:20 a.m. HK)
Malaysia’s Drug Control Authority has granted conditional registration for the Ronapreve Covid-19 treatment, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement. The product is a collaboration between Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Roche Holding AG.
Singapore to Vaccinate Children in Waves (9:15 a.m. HK)
Singapore plans to vaccinate children 5-11 years old in multiple waves, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post.
If Singapore’s pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech doses arrive on schedule, older children in Primary 3 through Primary 5 grades will be vaccinated first, from the end of this month, and younger ones will follow in early 2022, Chan said. Booking of vaccination slots could open as soon as next week. The government will also ease restrictions on school activities and sports as more children get vaccinated, he added.
Vaccine Passports Help Boost Protection, Study Shows (8:50 a.m. HK)
Vaccine passports that restrict access to venues from restaurants to museums can help countries with low vaccination rates combat resistance to shots, a study published on Monday showed.
Covid passes, which generally require proof of inoculation, recovery from Covid-19 or a negative test, boosted vaccinations 20 days prior to and 40 days after being introduced in places like France, Israel, Italy and Switzerland which started with below-average inoculation rates, according to research published in The Lancet.
Myanmar Aims to Produce Covid Vaccine From January (8:10 a.m. HK)
Myanmar is cooperating with neighboring China to produce 5 million Covid vaccine doses a month, starting from January, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said at a meeting on Monday.
“We expect to surpass our target of vaccinating half of our adult population by the end of this month,” he was quoted as saying on state-broadcaster MRTV.
Manchester United Match Postponed Amid Outbreak (8:05 a.m. HK)
Manchester United’s match at Brentford FC that was set for Tuesday has been postponed amid a Covid outbreak within Manchester’s squad, the Premier League said.
Hong Kong Lays Out Rules for Business Travel to China (7:55 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong’s financial regulator unveiled rules for quarantine-free business travel to the Chinese mainland, laying out some of the first details in the long-awaited plan to re-open the border.
Travel will initially be quite limited, with only staff or directors of a licensed corporation who have regional roles and whose main purpose is to travel to nearby Guangdong province to manage mainland business allowed to pre-register, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission said late Monday on the first phase of the plan. Each company may submit one pre-registration, and it will be limited to just two executives each calendar month.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she doesn’t yet foresee a need to alter plans to reopen the border with the mainland, despite China reporting its first case of the omicron variant.
Lam told reporters at a regular briefing Tuesday that the officials from the city had met with mainland counterparts in neighboring Guangdong province to discuss reopening plans. The discussions are continuing despite China’s northern port of Tianjin confirming the country’s first omicron case in an incoming traveler, according to the Global Times newspaper.
Cases Surge in Australia’s Biggest State as Curbs Eased (7:30 a.m. HK)
Australia’s most-populous state has recorded its highest daily Covid-19 infection tally in more than two months as authorities battle the fast-spreading omicron variant, even as New South Wales readies to remove almost all restrictions.
The state recorded 804 new virus infections in the 24 hours to 8 p.m. Monday, a 50% jump from the day before, officials said in statement Tuesday. It’s the largest tally since Oct. 2, when its largest city Sydney was in the midst of a months-long lockdown to combat the delta variant.
California Reimposes Mask Mandate (6:50 a.m HK)
California will require face masks in all indoor public settings for one month, starting Wednesday. Many of the state’s most populous counties already have such requirements. California also will tighten rules for indoor events with more than 1,000 attendees, blocking entrance to any unvaccinated people who don’t show a negative test result taken within one or two days, depending on the type of test. The state currently allows attendance for anyone with a negative test taken within three days.
The measures come as California’s case rate has jumped to 14 infections per 100,000 people from 9.6 around Thanksgiving. Vaccinations have lagged in many of the state’s rural counties, leaving residents vulnerable to the delta and now omicron variants of the disease. But the new restrictions aren’t a prelude to another round of business shutdowns, said Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary.
“People say, ‘Is this the first step along the course we’re familiar with, with more closures?’ Absolutely not,” he said at a press conference Monday.
Moderna Shot Will Be Made in Australia (4:15 p.m. NY)
Australia’s Victoria state will become the first place in the southern hemisphere to manufacture mRNA vaccines after reaching an in-principle agreement with Moderna. The new manufacturing and finishing facilities and Australian research center will be capable of producing up to 25 million vaccine doses per year from 2024, with the capacity to scale up to 100 million doses per year to combat future pandemics, according to the state government.
Ireland Cuts Gap for Booster as Omicron Spreads (4 p.m. NY)
Omicron now accounts for about 11% of all cases in Ireland and is likely to increase “very rapidly over the coming days,” the Irish health ministry said. The variant accounted for about 1% of confirmed cases a week ago but is now growing exponentially with widespread community transmission, it added.
“We are hoping for the best while preparing for the worst,” chief medical officer Tony Holohan said. The government is cutting the gap between second vaccine doses and booster jabs to three months from five months previously, and will offer a fourth dose to people with compromised immune systems. Ireland reported 4,688 newly confirmed cases on Monday, largely in-line with recent days.
N.Y. Mandate Left Intact by Supreme Court (3:52 p.m. NY)
A divided U.S. Supreme Court left in force New York’s requirement that health-care workers be vaccinated against Covid-19, refusing to order exemptions for 20 providers who say they object to the shot on religious grounds.
The rebuff, which came with no explanation, follows a similar rejection in a Maine case in October. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, with Gorsuch criticizing New York Governor Kathy Hochul for comments she made defending the lack of a religious exemption.
The orders come amid a cultural and political firestorm over Covid vaccine requirements. Republican-led states including Florida are moving to fine companies unless they let workers opt out, pushing back against President Joe Biden’s plan to require private employers to ensure workers are vaccinated or face federal occupational safety penalties.
A federal appeals court has put the Biden rules on hold, and that issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court soon as well.
U.S. Cases Top 50 Million (3:10 p.m. NY)
U.S. coronavirus cases topped 50 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has killed almost 800,000 Americans since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Fidelity Halts Return to Office in New England (12:45 p.m. NY)
Fidelity Investments paused its voluntary return-to-office pilot program in New England amid rising Covid-19 risks.
The firm stopped non-essential workers from coming into offices in Boston; Smithfield, Rhode Island; and Merrimack, New Hampshire, spokesman Stephen Austin said Monday in an emailed statement. Voluntary return-to-office programs for thousands of employees in other locations around the U.S. remain in effect.
Denmark Expects Omicron to Dominate (11:10 a.m. NY)
Denmark expects omicron to become the dominant variant of the virus this week and that daily infections will reach 10,000, SSI, the country’s institute for infectious diseases, said in a statement on Monday. The total number of confirmed cases has now reached 2,471 or double the number from Friday.
“We expect that the second and especially the third shot will protect against serious illness from the omicron variant,” Henrik Ullum, the head of SSI, said in the statement.
The Nordic country, which has a population of 5.8 million, plans to deliver 650,000 vaccinations this week as it is now inviting people to take the third booster shot as early as four and a half months after the second jab.
Goldman Asks London Staff to Work From Home (9:39 a.m. NY)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has told its London staff to work from home if they can, as the City of London’s biggest firms adjust to the latest government guidance.
“Those of you who are able to work from home effectively should do so from Monday,” the lender said last week in an internal memo. The bank’s offices will remain open for those who still need to come in. Safety protocols including an on-site testing program and the wearing of masks away from desks remain in place.
South Africa Admissions Rise, Stay Below Peak (9:34 a.m. NY)
South African hospitals have 6,198 Covid-19 patients, of which 6.8% are in intensive-care units, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in a report on Monday.
Of the 420 people in ICU, 167 are on ventilators, the institute said. Of the admissions 2,685 are in Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The numbers compare with the 5,563 who were in the hospital a day earlier, with 7.3% of those in ICU. Covid-19 hospitalizations reached nearly 20,000 in January and July, the peaks of the country’s second and third waves, respectively.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
