(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci expressed optimism that the omicron surge will soon peak, but said the decline won’t be uniform throughout the U.S.
Thailand is ramping up the rollout of fourth vaccination shots to residents in tourism-dependent regions as the nation prepares to reopen its borders next month. The omicron variant is now accounting for 50% of cases in South Korea and daily cases have more than doubled from two weeks ago.
Cathay Pacific said its monthly cash burn will widen as Hong Kong’s tighter restrictions throttle capacity, as the city recorded its highest daily case tally in about a year. Airline bosses urged the U.K. to restore restriction-free international travel at least for the fully vaccinated.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 350.9 million; deaths pass 5.5 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.92 billion shots administered
- Bars and gyms are bustling as Americans learn to live With Covid
- Fresh produce risks getting more scarce with U.S. shot mandate
- Living with Covid proving tough for a gridlocked world economy
- Is Covid becoming endemic? What would that mean?: QuickTake
Thailand Rolls Out Fourth Shots (11:25 a.m. HK)
Thailand is ramping up the rollout of fourth Covid-19 shots to residents in tourism-dependent regions as the nation gears up for border reopening next month. Authorities are offering AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and seven other provinces to people who received their third dose at least three months ago. Starting on Feb. 1, Thailand will resume its quarantine-free tourism program that helped bring in some 350,000 visitors in two months, before the plan was temporarily suspended due to concerns over the spread of the omicron variant
Omicron Accounts for 50% of Korea Cases (10:15 a.m. HK)
Omicron has become the prevalent Covid variant in South Korea, accounting for more than 50% of weekly cases for the first time. The variant is also behind the latest surge in daily cases, which topped 7,000 on the weekend, having fallen to about 3,000 two weeks ago amid tighter social-distancing measures. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has warned that daily coronavirus cases could spike to 20,000 to 30,000 as early as February.
Cathay Cash Burn Accelerates (9:55 a.m. HK)
Cathay Pacific said its monthly cash burn will widen to as much as HK$1.5 billion ($193 million) from February as Hong Kong’s tighter restrictions on aircrew and travel throttle capacity.
The airline is operating about 2% of its pre-pandemic capacity on passenger flights and 20% for cargo, a side of the business that helped it generate money in the second half of last year thanks to strong demand for airfreight. Cathay expects to report a loss of between HK$5.6 billion to HK$6.1 billion in 2021, compared with a deficit of HK$7.5 billion in the first half last year. It posted a record loss of HK$21.6 billion loss in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.
Hong Kong reported 140 confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest number in about a year.
Airlines Urge U.K to Drop Travel Curbs (8:35 a.m. HK)
Airline bosses are urging U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid to restore restriction-free international travel at least for the fully vaccinated, citing evidence that recent curbs haven’t been effective in preventing the spread of omicron.
In a letter to Javid, chief executives of British Airways, Ryanair and other carriers asked for a clear protocol for managing future outbreaks “without recourse to knee-jerk universal testing or hotel quarantine.” They also called on the U.K. to rule out border closures and flight bans in response to future variants.
“Living with Covid means getting back to normality, being vigilant against variants and keeping the red list in our back pocket, but removing across-the-board restrictions in the same way we have done for hospitality and the domestic economy,” said Tim Alderslade, chief executive at Airlines UK. The U.K. saw a 71% slump in 2021 international departures compared to 2019, the trade body for British registered airlines said.
Australia to Add Novavax Vaccine (7:21 a.m. HK)
Australia will include the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine in its national inoculation program, for people aged 18 and over, starting the week of Feb. 21, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Monday.
Vaccination had played a key role in the country now experiencing a “clear decrease in cases” and hospitalizations, Hunt told reporters.
“It’s an important moment, we are seeing now clear signs that this omicron wave, at least in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, has peaked,” he said, adding there are promising signs from South Australia.
U.S. Vaccinations Slow (7:18 a.m. HK)
The U.S. reported on Sunday 694,000 vaccine new doses administered, the lowest number since October, amid a general decline in vaccinations despite near-record high infections and hospitalizations.
Vaccinations peaked last April at more than 4.5 million daily shots, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, and have largely been on the decline since. The availability of booster shots, the expansion to younger age groups and vaccine mandates briefly boosted numbers that are now dropping toward the lowest points since vaccinations were rolled out in December 2020.
Of the eligible populations, 67.4% of Americans are fully vaccinated and 43% have received booster shots, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anti-Vaccine Protesters March in D.C. (2:20 p.m. NY)
Opponents of vaccine mandates gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Sunday, though the crowd appeared to be smaller than expected.
Rally organizers had submitted a permit to the National Park Service estimating 20,000 attendees at the rally, but the Washington Post reported the gathering was a small crowd of a few thousand. Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been outspoken about his opposition to the vaccine, was among the speakers.
One in five adults in the U.S. remain unvaccinated. Washington, D.C., where the rally took place, requires proof of vaccination in order to dine in restaurants in the city.
Too Early to End School Masking: Gottlieb (1:23 p.m. NY)
It’s too soon for schools to lift student mask mandates, but public health officials officials need to be clearer about how long they are needed, said Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“To withdraw it right at the peak of the epidemic, I think it’s imprudent. We should wait,” Gottlieb, a Pfizer Inc. board member, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“But this whole Covid epidemic, I think, has been colored by the fact that policymakers have not prescribed clear endpoints,” he said. “I think parents are willing to tolerate masks in schools, recognizing it’s very disruptive to children if there is an end date to it.”
Fauci Optimistic Over Omicron (10:44 a.m. NY)
President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser expressed optimism that the omicron surge that has pushed Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations to records will soon peak, though that decline won’t be uniform throughout the U.S.
“Things are looking good,” Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “We don’t want to get overconfident, but they look like they’re going in the right direction right now.”
EU Won’t Add Curbs on Vaccinated Travelers (10:03 a.m NY)
European Union countries agreed not to add restrictions on vaccinated travelers, signaling a shift from basing rules on a region’s epidemiological situation to an individual’s vaccination status. Ministers will sign-off on the decision Tuesday, according to people familiar with discussion. The move is non-binding, but signals that European countries are ready to leave behind the emergency measures they’ve had in place.
Protesters Take to Streets in Brussels (9:39 a.m. NY)
Around 50,000 people took to the streets of Brussels on Sunday protesting Covid restrictions and vaccination passes. Some set flower pots on fire and others threw projectiles, including a chair, at police, according to local media. Police used tear gas and a fire engine to quell the protesters.
Protests erupted around Europe on Saturday, including in London, Paris, Stockholm and Athens, to protest vaccine passports and other virus regulations and restrictions.
Germany Likely to Keep Current Measures (7:18 a.m NY)
Germany will likely keep its current pandemic measures in place, the country’s regional leaders said ahead of a meeting Monday with Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the situation.
“Tightening of the corona measures is not on the horizon and that is good news for the current state of affairs,” Lower Saxony premier Stephan Weil told the RND media group before the summit. North Rhine-Westphalia’s regional leader Hendrik Wuest also said relaxing current measures isn’t on the table.
Russia Cases Hit Daily Record (4:48 p.m. HK)
Russia recorded a daily record of 63,205 new Covid-19 infections, the government response center said Sunday. The number of deaths was 679, close to levels of July.
With Russia at the start of a new wave, the Sputnik V vaccine is showing “very good efficacy” against the omicron variant, said Alexander Gintsburg, director at Gamaleya Center, which developed the vaccine, Interfax reported,
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