(Bloomberg) — A record 10 million people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the seven days through Sunday, almost twice the pandemic’s previous weekly high, as omicron swamps many parts of the globe. Weekly deaths continued to drop.
Hong Kong’s pace of vaccinations picked up following the discovery of locally-transmitted infections and as the expansion of a vaccine mandate approaches. The government denied rumors it will shut borders from midnight and suspend dining-in at restaurants. Singapore is looking into a gathering of New Year’s Eve revelers that authorities said is a potential superspreading event.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for Covid and plans to quarantine at home for five days, attending meetings virtually when possible. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he feels “totally fine” and hasn’t had to take a Covid test after a positive case was detected in his Sydney residence.
China reported 101 new Covid cases, of which 90 were in Xi’an, where some residents complained on social media about a lack of access to food, as well as censorship on the matter.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 290 million; deaths above 5.4 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.2 billion shots given
- Here’s (almost) everything Wall Street expects in 2022
- Asia manufacturing sustains momentum as omicron threat grows
- Gold rises to six-week high as virus risks boost demand
- What we know about the omicron variant now: QuickTake
Danish Doctors Won’t Use Merck Pill (2:50 p.m. HK)
Denmark’s doctors aren’t giving patients the 50,000 Covid-19 pills that the country has bought from Merck & Co., the Berlingske newspaper reported.
The Lagevrio pills aren’t being prescribed because there isn’t enough data to show their efficiency, the newspaper quoted Anders Beich, a spokesman for an industry group of Danish doctors, as saying.
Taiwan Reports First Local Omicron Cases (2:47 p.m. HK)
Taiwan reclassified two imported cases as local cases in a suspected cluster of infections at a quarantine hotel, according to a statement from Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. Taiwan has reported 88 omicron cases in total.
Weekly Cases Double Previous Record (1:50 p.m. HK)
Almost twice as many people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past seven days as the pandemic’s previous weekly record in late April.
The highly mutated and infectious variant drove cases to 10 million in the seven days through Sunday, up from a previous record of 5.7 million. The surging number comes at a time when many people have given up on testing or are using at-home kits with results that aren’t reported to local authorities.
Weekly Covid deaths are still on a downward trajectory, falling to their lowest level in more than a year.
Australia Secures More Sotrovimab (1:43 p.m. HK)
Australia secured an additional 46,000 doses of sotrovimab, used for mild to moderate cases of the virus, taking the national stockpile to 81,000, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
Sotrovimab has a “79% effectiveness rate in reducing serious illness, hospitalization and loss of life,” Hunt told reporters. “It’s not for everybody. It’s based on clinical advice, but it’s one of the reasons that we are seeing significantly lower ventilation rates.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Morrison reiterated that the government won’t be providing free rapid antigen tests for everyone despite shortages nationwide. “We’re now in a stage of the pandemic where you can’t just make everything free,” he told the Seven Network’s Sunrise program.
Australia recorded its highest number of infections since the pandemic began, with more than 37,000 daily cases.
India Infections Five Times Higher (1:12 p.m. HK)
India added 33,750 new infections Monday, more than five times the cases it reported a week ago, pointing to a new virus wave building in the country.
The South Asian nation, which has confirmed almost 35 million cases in total, reported 123 more deaths Monday, taking the total tally of Covid-related fatalities to 481,893. India will start vaccinating 15-18 year-olds Monday. The country has administered about 1.46 billion doses overall.
Pakistan Facing New Covid Wave (12:55 p.m. HK)
Pakistan reported 3,520 coronavirus cases in week ended Jan. 2, the highest in two months, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
There is now clear evidence of the start of another Covid wave, which has been expected for a few weeks, particularly in Karachi, Asad Umar, the minister overseeing the nation’s Covid-19 response, wrote on Twitter.
More Flight Cancellations, Led by China (12:05 p.m. HK)
About 3,700 domestic and international flights in the Asia-Pacific region were canceled over the weekend, and a further 970 are expected to be dropped Monday, according to the tracking firm FlightAware.com. China Eastern Airlines, Air China and Spring Airlines had the most cancellations.
Globally, more than 9,100 flights were canceled over the weekend.
Food Supply Complaints in Xi’an (11:32 a.m. HK)
Some local residents in Xi’an, the epicenter of China’s current outbreak, complained on social media about a lack of access to food supplies during lockdown, as well as government efforts to censor their grievances.
Two virus control officers in the city were fined and put in detention for seven days for beating a man who had gone out grocery shopping on Friday, according to local media, citing a police statement.
China reported 101 positive Covid cases for Sunday, 90 of which were in Xi’an.
Restrictions for Unvaccinated in Manila (11:10 a.m. HK)
The Philippine capital region’s mayors agreed to pass ordinances to forbid unvaccinated people from leaving home except for buying essential goods, and to bar them from entering malls and restaurants.
The curbs will be put in place to avoid overwhelming hospitals and to allow the economy to remain open as cases rise, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr said during a televised briefing. The capital region accounts for a third of the nation’s economic output.
Hong Kong Vaccinations Pick Up (10:28 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong administered over 7,000 initial injections on both Saturday and Sunday, the most since the end of November, as more citizens signed up for vaccinations following the discovery of a cluster of infections at a restaurant.
The number of people getting their first shots was surpassed by those getting boosters as access expanded to all adults on Jan. 1, with some 8,000 and 10,600 given on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Hong Kong is set to launch an expanded vaccine mandate that will require an inoculation in order to patronize restaurants, gyms and cinemas later this month.
‘Mrs Doubtfire’ to Close on Broadway for Weeks (9:23 a.m. HK)
The producer of a new musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire” has decided to close down the show for nine weeks, saying he sees no other way to save the production, the New York Times reported.
Kevin McCollum said he would close the musical comedy on Jan. 10, with a plan to reopen on March 14. The move will cost 115 people their jobs for that period, and McCollum said he is committed to rehiring those who want to return, according to the report.
Singapore Probes New Year’s Eve Street Party (9:05 a.m. HK)
Authorities are looking into an impromptu gathering of New Year’s Eve revelers in Clarke Quay, the Straits Times reported. The government task force managing the Covid situation said the gathering “involved some blatant breaches of safe management rules and is a potential superspreading event.”
The unauthorized party of hundreds — Singapore rules cap group sizes at just five — was widely shared on social media. In pictures and video, the crowd could be seen cheering, singing and counting down to the new year, many with their masks pulled down.
U.S. Defense Secretary Tests Positive (8:54 a.m. HK)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for Covid and plans to quarantine at home for the next five days, attending meetings virtually when possible.
Austin said he last met with Biden on Dec. 21, more than a week before he began to experience symptoms. The last time he was in the Pentagon was Dec. 30, where he said he only met briefly with a few members of staff while everyone was masked and socially distanced.
The defense secretary is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot in early October.
Australia’s Morrison ‘Totally Fine’ (7:38 a.m. HK)
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he’s feeling “totally fine” and hasn’t had the need to take a Covid-19 test, after a positive case was detected in his Sydney residence.
Morrison said he was exposed to the positive case at a press conference held outdoors on Wednesday. The New South Wales state health department advised the prime minister to be on alert.
Deaths Hit Less Vaccinated Maine Counties (4:35 p.m. NY)
Deaths from Covid in Maine’s least vaccinated counties are about three times higher than in the most vaccinated, according to an analysis by the Portland Press Herald-Maine Sunday Telegram.
The starkest difference was between Franklin County, with a death rate of about 9 per 10,000, compared with Sagadahoc County, with just above 2 per 10,000. Franklin County is 59.4% vaccinated, while Sagadahoc County has a rate of 74.4%, the newspaper reported.
Adams Urges NYC Students to Classrooms (3:28 p.m. NY)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged parents to “put your children in school” when the U.S.’s largest school system reopens Monday after the holiday, despite a third of Covid tests coming back positive across the city and no requirement to test before attending classes.
Adams said he thinks tests should be required but he didn’t have authority to mandate them. That rests with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who is encouraging testing but not requiring it. Other cities, including Washington, D.C., are requiring proof of a negative test to re-enter school buildings.
Israel Expands Eligibility for Fourth Dose (1:37 p.m. NY)
Israel will start offering a fourth vaccine dose to people older than 60 as the omicron strain has caused a surge in new cases in the country.
The fourth dose will also be made available to medical staff for whom at least four months have passed since their last jab, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a press conference on Sunday. Last week, Israel approved the extra shot for people who are immunocompromised, as well as residents of nursing homes, and patients at geriatric hospitals.
Israel expects new coronavirus cases to climb to tens of thousands per day soon, Bennett said at the opening of a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Fauci Says Testing May Be Added to Isolation Rule (1:02 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is considering adding a negative test to recommendations on a shortened isolation period for people with asymptomatic infections, Biden’s chief medical adviser said on ABC’s “This Week.”
U.S. health officials have cut the recommended isolation time to five days from 10 after after a positive test. Anthony Fauci acknowledged “pushback” to the shortened span without any further test that might indicate if a person is still infected.
Twitter Bans Greene for Misinformation (12:59 p.m. NY)
Twitter Inc. on Sunday said it permanently banned the personal account of Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for repeated violations of the platform’s prohibition against spreading misinformation about Covid-19.
The Georgia lawmaker was previously suspended for tweeting false claims about the Covid vaccine and health risks during the global pandemic. A tweet Saturday misrepresented data on the death rate from the vaccine, a company spokesman said.
Goldman Backtracks on Return to Office (10:40 a.m. NY)
Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street’s fiercest champions of returning its staff to offices, is asking U.S. employees to work from home if they can until Jan. 18.
Goldman’s reversal comes after most of its major peers, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, adopted a more cautious stance.
“As we continue to monitor the trajectory of this spike, we now encourage those who can work effectively from home to do so,” Goldman said Sunday in a memo.
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