(Bloomberg) — After months of warnings that vaccinations would ward off a Covid-19 disaster, the U.S. is hurtling toward a holiday crisis. New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all businesses to require masks indoors if they don’t have a vaccine requirement.
U.K. health officials expect omicron to become the dominant variant by the middle of December but said early data show boosters can “considerably improve effectiveness” against the new strain.
Hong Kong announced plans to tighten quarantine and testing requirements for inbound travelers from the U.S. London’s Heathrow Airport offered a bleak outlook on passenger numbers as omicron stalls a rebound in long-haul travel.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases near 269 million; deaths approach 5.3 million
- Omicron propels U.S. booster drive where it’s needed least
- What we know about omicron: QuickTake
- World rushes to boost against omicron, but questions remain
- BI’s Sam Fazeli on the effectiveness of vaccine boosters against omicron
Omicron Set to Dominate in U.K. (11:40 a.m. NY)
U.K. health officials expect omicron to become the dominant variant by the middle of December but said early data show boosters can “considerably improve effectiveness” against the new strain.
An early study of vaccine effectiveness showed that shots from AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer-BioNTech provided much lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection than they provide against the delta strain. However, preliminary data suggests that effectiveness against the new variants appears to increase considerably in the early period after a booster dose, providing around 70% to 75% protection against symptomatic infection.
The U.K. reported 58,000 new cases on Friday, the highest number since Jan. 9. The omicron variant was identified in 448 of the cases, compared to 249 the day before. Hospital numbers stood roughly steady.
Denmark Omicron Cases Spike (11:44 a.m. NY)
Denmark has now recorded more than 1,000 cases of the omicron variant after a 60% jump in one day, prompting health authorities to again urge Danes to vaccinate.
Denmark has registered 1,280 omicron cases in total, SSI, the country’s institute for infectious diseases, said in a statement on Friday. That’s up from 796 cases a day earlier and up from 18 cases a week ago.
“Unfortunately the spread is very fast right now,” said Henrik Ullum, the head of SSI.
Italy, Portugal to Vaccinate Young Children (11:33 a.m. NY)
Italy will start vaccinating children aged 5-11 starting Dec. 16, and Portugal will begin on Dec. 18. Both countries will give priority to children who are medically vulnerable.
Waste Shows Omicron Dominant in Capetown (10:58 a.m. NY)
Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in Cape Town, the South African Medical Research Council said, citing wastewater analyses.
The variant was found in 11 of 12 wastewater samples collected in Cape Town on Nov. 30, the council said in a statement on Friday. The delta variant was only dominant at one wastewater plant in the city, it said.
Covid Crisis Threatens U.S. Holidays (10:40 a.m. NY)
After months of warnings that vaccinations would ward off a Covid-19 disaster, the U.S. is sailing toward a holiday crisis.
Cases and hospital admissions are rising amid a season of family gatherings. Most victims have shunned inoculations. The situation is especially dire in the chilly Northeastern states, but doctors in many places report a grimly repetitive cycle of admission, intensive care and death. There are shortages of beds and staff to care for the suffering.
“We’re in desperate shape,” said Brian Weis, chief medical officer at Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo, the state’s worst hot spot.
Minks in Finland Can Be Vaccinated (10:37 a.m. NY)
Finland gave a special, temporary authorization to a coronavirus vaccine for minks produced by Zoetis Inc. and VMRD Inc. in a bid to inoculate the animals and protect its fur farmers.
The announcement comes just two months after the industry decided to organize an inoculation program using a domestically developed jab, the first such program in the European Union. Minks are known to be particularly susceptible to the virus.
N.Y. Requires Masks Indoors in Public (10:27 a.m. NY)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all businesses to require masks indoors if they don’t have a Covid-19 vaccine requirement.
“We’re entering a time of uncertainty and we could either plateau here or our cases could escalate beyond control,” Hochul said in a briefing. “We’re heading upward in a direction that I find is no longer sustainable.”
Swiss Mull Further Pandemic Steps (9:07 a.m. NY)
Switzerland is considering new measures, including closing indoor restaurants and fitness centers as well as mandating people to work from home, as it seeks to counter a surge in new infections.
The government will be discussing two options. One would limit entry to restaurants and museums and other public indoor venues to those who’ve been inoculated or have recovered from the virus.
The other option would effectively be a partial lockdown, closing restaurants for indoor dining, gyms and discos. The next decision will be made Dec. 14.
Scotland Sees Omicron Overtaking Delta (7:49 a.m. NY)
The Scottish government expects omicron to overtake delta as the prevalent variant within days after a jump in infections that’s prompted health officials to tighten the rules on self-isolation.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the country will require more case contacts to stay home regardless of vaccination status and recommended workplace Christmas parties should be postponed. U.K. leaders will discuss the latest stage of the pandemic at a so-called Cobra meeting later on Friday, she said.
Europe Surge May Be Leveling Off (6:42 a.m. NY)
Europe’s infection surge appears to be leveling off after governments across the continent clamped down with another round of tough measures, including lockdowns and restrictions on the unvaccinated.
While the trend varies across countries, overall European Union numbers look to have hit a plateau. Austria and Germany have seen a dramatic shift, with the former’s seven-day case rate plunging by more than half since late last month.
ECB’s Next Meeting to Be Held Virtually (5:57 p.m. HK)
The European Central Bank will hold next week’s Governing Council meeting in a fully virtual format after infections in Germany surged to record levels, according to a person familiar with the decision.
H.K. to Tighten Quarantine for U.S. Travelers (5:47 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong residents returning from the U.S. will be required to spend their first seven days of quarantine at the government’s Penny’s Bay center.
They would then be transferred to serve their remaining 14 days of compulsory quarantine at designated hotels the travelers had already reserved, according to a statement. U.S. arrivals were already subject to three weeks of quarantine, all of it served in hotels.
HSBC, JPMorgan London Staff to Stay Home (5:30 p.m. HK)
HSBC told U.K. employees on Thursday afternoon they should return to home-working where possible, according to a spokesperson.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. told staff in an internal memo Thursday that it is reassessing “who needs to be coming into the office and who should revert to working from home on a more regular basis.”
Deutsche Bank is significantly reducing the number of staff working in the office from Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Heathrow Offers Bleak Passenger Outlook (4:29 p.m. HK)
London’s Heathrow airport said passenger numbers are likely to recover to barely half of pre-Covid levels next year as the pandemic continues to ravage long-haul travel markets.
The number of travelers in 2022 is likely to reach 45 million, Heathrow said in a statement Friday. That compares with a record 81 million in 2019.
S. Africa Sees Hospitalization ‘Disconnect’ (2:40 p.m. HK)
South Africa is seeing a “disconnect” between the number of infections and hospital admissions in the current infection wave, according to Michelle Groome, the head of health surveillance for the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
As the omicron variant has taken hold there has been a slight increase in deaths, she said on an online press conference on Friday. This differs from earlier waves when the number of infections and hospital admissions rose in tandem, she said.
Meanwhile, the country will offer booster shots as it races to control a surge in infections caused by the omicron variant.
Danske Staff to Work From Home (2:17 pm. HK)
Danske Bank staff will be working from home through Jan 4. after the government announced new Covid-19 restrictions and urged businesses to work virtually if possible, Danske tells newspaper Borsen.
Clients will “to the greatest extent possible be met with digital meetings, while physical locations will remain open to a limited capacity,” the lender said in a written response to Borsen.
Directors Prioritized in HK-China Reopening (12:02 p.m. HK)
Directors of listed companies are among three groups that will be prioritized when quarantine-free travel resumes between Hong Kong and China, Wen Wei Po reported, citing unidentified people.
Longer Wait Better for Sinovac Booster (12 p.m. HK)
A longer gap between second and third doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine provides more protection against the virus than a shorter wait, according to a study published in medical journal the Lancet.
Antibody levels in people who received a third dose eight months after their second dose rose more than twice as much as people who got a booster shot within two months of their second dose, according to researchers from Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Fudan University and several regional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
South Africa Neighbors Brace for Spike (12 p.m. HK)
While many countries banned travelers from southern Africa after the new strain was first identified there two weeks ago, its governments have denounced the restrictions and have largely kept borders open. Lines of vehicles can stretch for several miles as workers at South African mines and construction sites journey home, adding to the already heavy stream of travelers.
South Africa’s neighbors are bracing for a flood of returning workers over the December holidays, threatening to accelerate the spread of the omicron variant that’s already ignited a fourth wave of infections in the region.
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