(Bloomberg) — Australia reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases for the first time in a single day, as a backlog of home test results were included in the tally and states began reintroducing restrictions to help hospitals hit by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
More than two dozen Hong Kong officials have been ordered to quarantine due to possible Covid exposure, as a scandal over a large birthday party they attended despite government warnings widened. The situation in the city is severe and the health care system is at risk of breaking down, said Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan. The latest round of curbs may be extended by another week if the spread of omicron cases can’t be contained.
From Boris Johnson to Emmanuel Macron, Europe’s leaders are increasingly going after anti-vaxxers as the battle against the omicron variant deepens the region’s pandemic fatigue. Officials are focusing restrictions on unvaccinated people rather than resorting to widespread clampdowns.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases exceed 303 million; deaths about 5.48 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.39 billion shots administered
- NYC return plans on hold as Schwarzman cancels birthday bash
- Here’s a roundup of what’s been delayed in Hollywood
- Getting Home to Singapore Is Good Enough, For Now: Daniel Moss
- Hong Kong is at a Covid-19 tipping point
Vaccine Skeptics Slammed Across Europe (3:24 p.m. HK)
From Boris Johnson to Emmanuel Macron, Europe’s leaders are increasingly going after anti-vaxxers as the battle against the fast-spreading omicron variant deepens the region’s pandemic fatigue.
Amid a seemingly unstoppable surge in infections, officials are focusing restrictions on unvaccinated people rather than resorting to widespread clampdowns. The strong overall uptake in inoculations has emboldened leaders to go more aggressively after holdouts, prodding them to roll up their sleeves.
French President Macron took the rhetoric to a new level this week when he said his government’s strategy was to “p— off” those who have refused shots. In the U.K., Johnson accused anti-vaxxers of spreading “nonsense.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who supports making shots compulsory, has labeled the anti-vax movement “a tiny minority of reckless extremists.”
India Reports Over 100,000 Daily Cases (12:30 p.m. HK)
India’s health ministry reported more than 100,000 new cases for a second consecutive day, with the daily surge starting to look similar to levels in June. The country has announced mandatory home quarantine for anyone arriving in the country regardless of their test results and country of origin.
As the nation tries to avoid another deadly jump in virus infections, a number of states are taking measures to curb public gatherings that include bans on night travel and limits on gymnasiums and cinema hall operations. Local authorities in India are so far in favor of not opting for a complete shut down. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, reported nearly 21,000 new cases on Friday.
California Activates National Guard for Tests (11:35 a.m. HK)
Governor Gavin Newsom said he has activated the California National Guard to add testing facilities and capacity with the surge in cases. That will add to the existing 6,000 testing sites across the state, extended hours for these locations and the 9.6 million tests that the state has distributed to schools since early December. Omicron accounts for at least 80% of cases in the Golden State. More than 200 guard members are expected to be immediately deployed.
Australia’s Daily Infections Top 100,000 (10:46 a.m. HK)
Australia reported more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases for the first time in a single day, as a backlog of home test results were included in the tally and states began reintroducing restrictions to help hospitals hit by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
Cases more than doubled in Victoria state to 51,356 on Saturday, as officials started counting results from rapid tests for the first time. Some 26,428 of the positive results came from the newly admitted tests, which were taken over the past week, according to Health Minister Martin Foley.
Nationwide, Australia recorded 116,025 new cases, including another 45,098 in New South Wales, where 1,795 people are hospitalized. The virus took nine lives in the state and in Victoria. The surge comes as states including Victoria and New South Wales moved to suspend non-urgent surgeries and implemented new limitations on socializing.
Colorado to Ration Care as Crews Fall Sick (10:45 a.m. HK)
Colorado authorized emergency medical services to ration care as ambulance crews fall ill with Covid-19. Under so-called crisis standards of care, ambulance dispatchers will screen calls to determine if immediate care is needed, Eric France, the state’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
One-in-four members of the public tested for Covid-19 in Colorado have been receiving positive results and the omicron variant is the primary suspect in most cases. “With increasing demands on hospitals and EMS, we need to make sure we can provide care to anyone who needs it immediately,” France said.
Hong Kong May Extend Virus Measures (10:40 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong may need to extend its latest round of virus-control curbs by another week if the community spread of omicron cases can’t be contained in time, David Hui, a respiratory medicine professor and member of the city’s Covid advisory panel, said on a radio program Saturday.
Officials on Wednesday imposed two weeks of new measures including banning dining-in after 6 p.m., shutting venues such as bars and gyms and halting flights from eight countries including the U.S. and U.K. An extension of the policy could further threaten the city’s retail and consumer industries before the Lunar New Year in early February, traditionally a peak spending season.
The situation in the city is severe and the health care system is at risk of breaking down, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said on the same program, as more people are being sent to hospital isolation wards or quarantine facilities following an outbreak linked to a birthday party attended by over 180 people including dozens of officials and lawmakers.
Hong Kong Officials Sent to Quarantine (10:01 a.m. HK)
More than two dozen Hong Kong officials have been ordered to quarantine due to possible Covid exposure, as a scandal over a large birthday party they attended despite the government’s own pandemic warnings widened.
All of the more than 180 guests at a celebration thrown for a representative for a mainland Chinese agency were being sent to the government quarantine camp in Penny’s Bay, health official Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a press briefing Friday. Some of Hong Kong’s most senior politicians and more than 20% of its new “patriots-only” legislature will be confined to 200-square-foot (20-square-meter) rooms with no wifi access, just as the government fights an outbreak of the infectious omicron variant.
Thailand’s Daily Cases Highest Since October (8:50 a.m HK)
Thailand’s Covid daily infections increased for a fifth straight day to their highest level since Oct. 31 with 8,263 new cases reported on Saturday.
Daily cases have jumped in the last week after falling to a six-month low before Christmas, and the nation’s main Covid task force on Friday raised the alert level by a notch to the second highest and approved restrictions on alcohol consumption, requested people to work from home and avoid inter-provincial travel until the end of January.
The panel, chaired by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, also indefinitely suspended its quarantine-free entry program for vaccinated travelers, in an effort to curb the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
Mexico City Airport Lines Reach Sidewalks (7:50 a.m. HK)
Travelers at Mexico City’s airport on Friday had to withstand lines that stretched far outside the hub’s doors and onto the sidewalk just to drop off their bags as airlines were hit with staffing shortages due to Covid-19.
At least 65 Mexico City flights were canceled over the past 24 hours, according to tracking site FlightAware. Over the past week, 71 Aeromexico pilots have tested positive for Covid, as have four Aeromar pilots, according to Captain Jose Suarez, spokesperson at pilot union ASPA, which represents 1,900 pilots at Grupo Aeromexico SAB and Grupo Aeromar SA.
Hong Kong at Covid-19 Tipping Point (7:48 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong, a once-vibrant gateway to China, sacrificed its status as an international hub to “Covid Zero,” its strategy for eliminating the virus by isolating itself from a world awash in the pathogen. It worked for nearly a year, keeping residents safe and largely unfettered while raising the tantalizing possibility of reopening the border with China, the city’s economic lifeblood.
Now it’s living with the worst of both worlds, after a couple of imported infections caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant started spreading in city, triggering renewed curbs. Residents can no longer go to the gym or the cinema, and the once-ubiquitous banquets where people gathered to celebrate the Chinese New Year were canceled for another year.
Finland Rejects Remote-Only School (4:23 p.m. NY)
Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s cabinet said students in Finland should return to classrooms for in-person learning, overruling a Health Ministry proposal for remote learning as many schools prepare to reopen next week after a holiday.
Mask-wearing requirements will be broadened and kids will be given two home tests a week as soon as possible to limit the spread of Covid-19 in schools, Krista Kiuru, the government minister in charge of the pandemic response, told reporters on Friday.
Boosters Protect Against Omicron: UK Study (2:56 p.m. NY)
Booster shots are providing high levels of protection against hospitalization and severe disease from the omicron Covid variant among older people, according to the latest data from the U.K. Health Security Agency.
Figures show that around three months after the third shot, protection against hospitalization among those 65 and older remains at about 90%. With just two doses, protection against severe disease drops to about 70% after three months and to 50% after six months, the agency said Friday.
The panel concluded that there’s no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose to the most vulnerable, with priority remaining rolling out first booster doses to all age groups.
Biden Says Surge Not ‘New Normal’ (12:21 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden said surging cases won’t be the “new normal,” though the virus is likely to endure and can be managed with newly developed tools.
“Covid — as we’re dealing with it now — is not here to stay,” Biden said to reporters at the White House on Friday. “Having Covid in the environment here and in the world is probably here to stay.” The U.S. recorded a record one million cases on Monday, and hundreds of thousands each day since, including nearly 800,000 on Thursday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s push to vaccinate millions of workers amid a Covid-19 surge, questioning whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had authority to require that 80 million workers get shots or regular tests.
Omicron May Mark Pandemic End: Study (10:46 p.m. NY)
A study of patients infected with Covid-19 at a large hospital in the South African city where the first outbreak of the omicron variant was recorded showed an infection wave that moved with “unprecedented speed” and caused much milder illness than earlier strains.
That, the researchers who analyzed data at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria said, could be an indication that the pandemic is coming to an end.
“If this pattern continues and is repeated globally, we are likely to see a complete decoupling of case and death rates,” the researchers said. That suggests “omicron may be a harbinger of the end of the epidemic phase of the Covid pandemic, ushering in its endemic phase.”
Citi to Fire Unvaccinated Workers (10:06 a.m. NY)
Citigroup Inc. was the first major Wall Street bank to impose a strict Covid-19 vaccine mandate: Get a shot or face termination. With its deadline fast approaching, the company is preparing for action.
Office workers who don’t comply by Jan. 14 will be placed on unpaid leave and a message to staff seen by Bloomberg said their last day of employment will come at the end of the month. While some of the employees will be eligible for certain year-end bonus payments, they’ll have to sign an agreement that states they won’t pursue legal action against the company to receive the funds, the company said in the message.
“You are welcome to apply for other roles at Citi in the future as long as you are compliant with Citi’s vaccination policy,” the company said in the memo.
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