(Bloomberg) —
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is set to be deported from Australia after the Federal Court upheld a government decision to revoke his visa.
Cases in Russia rose to the highest for any day since mid-December, while Mexico reported a daily record. Saudi Arabia will start vaccinating children from the age of five.
China reported a drop in locally transmitted infections, just a day after the first case of the omicron variant was detected in Beijing.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 326 million; deaths pass 5.5 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.67 billion shots administered
- From pandemic to endemic: Can 2022 succeed where 2021 failed?
- U.S. parents and retirees teach class as omicron sidelines faculty
- Omicron surge gives bosses reason to order shots Biden now can’t
- Should I be wearing an N95 mask? The evolving advice: QuickTake
Saudi Arabia Starts Vaccinations in Children From Five Years Old (4:20 p.m. HK)
Saudi Arabia will begin vaccinating children aged from 5 to 11 against coronavirus, the Ministry of Health said in a tweet.
People in Saudi Arabia can now take the third vaccine dose, or booster, three months after the second dose. In December, Saudi Arabia advised citizens to avoid “unnecessary” travel outside the country amid rising coronavirus cases and the new omicron variant.
Highest Number of Russian Cases Since Mid-December (4:15 pm HK)
Russia reported 29,230 new cases in the past day, the highest daily figure since mid-December, according to the government’s reporting center. While the number of new cases has risen for six days, the number of deaths fell to 686 in the past day, the lowest since the start of July.
Covax Delivers One Billionth Covid-19 Vaccine Dose (4 p.m. HK)
Covax, the World Health Organization-backed program to distribute jabs to poorer countries, has delivered its one-billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose.
A shipment of 1.1 million doses to Rwanda on Jan. 15 included the billionth dose delivered by Covax, the WHO said in a statement.
Some countries are still far behind the WHO’s vaccine goals. As of Jan. 13, a total of 36 WHO member states had vaccinated less than 10% of their population, and 88 had vaccinated less than 40%.
The WHO said Covax’s efforts have been “compromised” by hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. It also said “a lack of sharing of licenses, technology and know-how by pharmaceutical companies meant manufacturing capacity went unused.”
Djokovic Loses Fight to Avoid Deportation (3 p.m. HK)
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is set to be deported from Australia after the Federal Court upheld a government decision to revoke his visa over fears his presence would strengthen anti-vaccination sentiment.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke revoked Djokovic’s visa on Friday, saying it was in the public interest to do so. Djokovic is unvaccinated and has shown an “apparent disregard” for basic rules such as isolating after a positive test, which may encourage or influence others to emulate his conduct, Hawke said.
Greek Seniors Face Monthly Fine For Failure to Get Covid Shot (3 p.m. HK)
Greece from Monday intends to fine all people ages 60 and over who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19 as a way to boost lagging inoculation levels and reduce pressure on health care.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has told seniors the simplest way to avoid the levy is to get vaccinated. Greek authorities say the non-vaccinated remain at high risk for hospitalization from the coronavirus. Some nine in 10 Covid-related deaths in Greece have been among people 60 and above, while seven in 10 of those hospitalized from the virus are over 60. And of those, eight in 10 are unvaccinated.
Germany Reports 52,504 New Covid Cases Vs 78,022 Prior Day (10:46 a.m.)
Germany recorded 52,504 new cases, compared with 78,022 the day before, according to the country’s public health authority RKI.
Reported new deaths associated with the virus rose by 47, bringing the total to 115,619.
China Reports Decline in Local Cases for a Second Day (10:40 a.m. HK)
China reported 65 new local transmitted, dropping for a second day to the lowest level since Jan. 4. The new cases include Beijing’s first confirmed omicron variant infection, and 33 spotted in the northern port city of Tianjin that borders Beijing, according to a statement of National Health Commission.
Singapore Booster Rate Passes 51% (9:30 a.m. HK)
Singapore’s rate for vaccination boosters has reached 51%, with about 42,000 people a day getting the additional shots. That’s an acceleration from the 25,000-per-day pace of late December, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post.
Mexico Covid-19 Cases Rise by Daily Record of 47,113 (9:23 a.m. HK)
Mexico registered a record rise of 47,113 Covid-19 cases Saturday, bringing the total to 4,349,182, according to Health Ministry data.
Deaths increased by 227 to 301,334.
German Minister Seeks Incentives for Booster Shots (8:55 a.m. HK)
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he favors incentives for people to get booster shots over the threat of lockdowns and school closings to combat the surge in cases blamed on the omicron variant.
People who get boosters should have more freedoms in public life than those who don’t, Lauterbach said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper. Germany is at greater risk than countries such as the U.K. and Spain because it has a greater number of unvaccinated people over age 60, he said.
“We have a hard core of unvaccinated people,” he told the outlet. “I don’t see how we can persuade those who still refuse to get the vaccine.”
England Lowers Booster Age to 16 (8 a.m. HK)
England will lower the age threshold for booster shots to 16. The change will mean that around 40,000 teenagers in England will now be eligible for the shot. Previously, only those over 18 could get the third shot. More than four in five adults in England have received the booster, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement announcing the change.
Restaurant Says N.Y. Senator Didn’t Wear Mask (5:28 p.m. NY)
A restaurant in upstate New York said that U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ignored state regulations and walked in without a mask.
“My Senator blowing past my manager before she can even ask her to put a mask on. Walking right past a really big sign that says ‘masks required to enter,’” the restaurant, Innovo Kitchen, in Latham, posted on Instagram, which included a video of a maskless woman it said was the Democratic senator.
“I guess Senator Gillibrand thinks that the Governor is wrong or she is special and above the rules,” the post said.
Gillibrand issued a statement saying, “I will do better going forward,” the Albany Times Union reported.
New Virginia Governor Cuts Covid Restrictions (4:54 p.m. NY)
Glenn Youngkin, sworn in Saturday as Virginia’s governor, issued executive orders rolling back Covid-19 regulations.
The Republican governor signed 11 executive orders outlining priorities for his new administration, including rescinding the vaccine mandate for all state employees and allowing parents to decide whether a child wears a mask in school, WTOP news reported.
Brazil Reports 48,520 New Covid-19 Cases in Last 24 Hours (4:26 p.m. NY)
Brazil reported a total of 22,975,723 Covid-19 cases, with 48,520 confirmed in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data.
The country’s coronavirus death toll rose by 175 in the last 24 hours to 620,971.
Outbreaks Hit Louisiana Nursing Homes (2:05 p.m. NY)
Louisiana nursing homes are battling outbreaks — almost 1,000 infections among residents and more than 2,700 among staff in the last two weeks, the Times-Picayune reported. The level is six times higher than at the end of December, the newspaper said.
The outbreak is worsening the state’s shortage of nursing staff. Deaths at nursing homes are rising slightly, at a far slower pace than infections.
France Deactivates Vaccine Passes (1:56 p.m. NY)
France has begun deactivating vaccine passes for people who failed to get booster shots, Le Parisien reported. The deadline for receiving a booster shot varies by vaccine.
Meantime, protests erupted again in Paris and other cities against the vaccine passes, required for restaurants, museums and some transportation. French President Emmanuel Macron, who faces re-election in April, has taken an aggressive stance against the unvaccinated, saying in a recent interview he wants to “p— off” people who don’t get their shots.
France reported 324,580 new cases in the last 24 hours, slightly lower than the record numbers reached earlier in the week.
U.K. Cases Slow (1:28 p.m. NY)
Daily cases in the U.K. fell to 81,713, the lowest since Dec. 15, adding to evidence that the surge in infections driven by the omicron variant may have peaked.
Daily cases reached a high of more than 218,000 on Jan. 4 as omicron infections raged after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Daily hospitalizations have yet to ease, reaching 2,423 in the Saturday report and have held above 2,000 everyday but one in January.
An additional 287 people died from Covid, up from 270 reported Friday. The drop in infections may lead the government to ease existing Covid restrictions when it reviews current measures on Jan. 26.
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