(Bloomberg) — China locked down the western city of Xi’an to stamp out a persistent virus outbreak in the metropolis of 13 million people, its biggest such move since the pandemic started in Wuhan.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on an expedited basis on President Joe Biden’s shot-or-test rule for large employers and his vaccine mandate for health-care workers. U.S. regulators gave emergency authorization to Pfizer Inc.’s Covid pill for people at high risk of severe complications.
The omicron variant appears less likely to lead to hospitalizations than the delta strain, according to preliminary data from studies. Researchers in Scotland found omicron was associated with a two-thirds lower risk of hospitalization compared to the earlier variant. An Imperial College London team working with a larger data set found that people with omicron were almost half as likely to need an overnight hospital stay.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 277 million; deaths top 5.37 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 8.8 billion shots given
- Omicron brings new risks to mostly-unvaccinated pregnant women
- Stages, restaurants go dark as de facto shutdowns grip U.S.
- Omicron hospitalization risk is far below delta’s in two studies
- All you need to know about rapid test kits
- What we know about omicron, the new virus variant: QuickTake
Masks Return to Sydney and Melbourne (2:42 p.m. HK)
Australia’s two most-populous states are bringing back mask mandates as a surge in Covid-19 cases, led by the highly contagious omicron variant, threatens to roil Christmas plans for a second year.
In New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, limits will also return on the number of patrons in hospitality venues from Dec. 27., in an attempt to limit the potential impact on the state’s health care system. Numbers are climbing at a slower rate in Victoria, home to Melbourne, which hadn’t eased public restrictions as fast as its neighboring state in recent weeks.
Both states will require masks to be worn in all indoor settings apart from private homes from Friday. Western Australia also made mask mandatory indoors until Dec. 28.
Japan’s Kyoto Finds Spread of Omicron (2:35 p.m. HK)
Kyoto prefecture confirmed community spread of the coronavirus omicron variant, Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki said at a briefing Thursday, a day after neighboring Osaka confirmed the first such spread in the nation.
A woman in her 20s who had no record of overseas travel was found to have the variant, the governor of the western Japan prefecture said in remarks streamed by broadcaster NHK. The government of Osaka Wednesday said it found three cases of omicron that it wasn’t able to trace.
Germany Sees No Current Need for Lockdown (2:25 p.m. HK)
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said he doesn’t see a need for lockdown measures as things stand though they cannot be ruled out completely if infections surge.
“There are no red lines,” Lauterbach said in an interview with WDR2 radio. “If we were to see very high case numbers then lockdown measures are not ruled out but at the moment they are not absolutely necessary.”
Lauterbach is counting on an accelerated vaccination and booster campaign to help ward off the omicron strain of Covid-19, as well as restrictions on social contacts that will come into force next week.
Apple Closes Eight Stores Amid Virus Surge (1:32 p.m. HK)
Apple Inc. temporarily shuttered at least eight retail stores in the U.S. and Canada over the past day as Covid-19 cases surged among the public and employees.
Stores have been closed in Miami, Atlanta, Houston and Montreal, among other locations.
India Cases Are Ticking Up Again (1:32 p.m. HK)
India added 7,495 new Covid-19 infections, the highest in a week, according to government data reported Thursday.
New Delhi has canceled all Christmas and New Year’s festivities as cases slowly tick up. The city reported 125 new cases on Wednesday, the highest in more than five months. The country has so far reported 236 cases linked to the omicron variant.
Philippines Clears Pfizer Shot for Ages 5 to 11 (1:10 p.m. HK)
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of Pfizer’s Covid-19 shot for ages 5 to 11, the regulator’s head Eric Domingo said.
The shot’s concentration and dosage are different from those used for adults, so the government will still have to procure the appropriate vaccine before it can start the rollout, which is targeted to start in early January. The regulator also approved the emergency use of Covid-19 antiviral molnupiravir under the brand name Molnarz.
China Expects Covid Cases at Olympics (11:53 a.m. HK)
The “odds are high” that a certain number of positive cases will appear during the Beijing Winter Olympics, given that a large amount of game-related staff will travel to China, Han Zirong, vice president and secretary general of the Beijing Organizing Committee, said at the briefing.
China strongly recommends all participants get a booster shot, Han said.
Omicron May Double Risk of Plane Infections (10:22 a.m. HK)
Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of the omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines.
The new strain is highly transmissible and has become dominant in a matter of weeks, accounting for more than 70% of all new cases in the U.S. alone. While hospital-grade air filters on modern passenger jets make the risk of infection much lower on planes than in crowded places on the ground such as shopping malls, omicron is rapidly spreading just as more travelers take to the skies for year-end holidays and family reunions.
China Locks Down City of Xi’an (10:21 a.m. HK)
The 13 million residents of Xi’an were told to remain in their homes and to designate one person to go out every other day for necessities, while non-essential travel out of the city was banned.
This came after a second round of mass testing weeded out 127 Covid infections scattered across 14 districts, making containment of the virus “grave and complicated,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
CanSino 91.7% Effective Against Severe Covid (9:49 a.m. HK)
The one-shot viral vector Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s CanSino Biologics Inc is 57.5% effective against symptomatic infection in a phase III study. This is below the 65.7% efficacy reported by Pakistan’s health adviser Faisal Sultan earlier this year. The difference, according to a company spokesperson, is due to more thorough data collection from all the trial sites following the completion of the study.
The researchers said there are no reports of thrombosis or thrombocytopenia in any study participants, which are rare but severe side effects following the use of similar Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson.
Efficacy against severe Covid was raised to 91.7% from 90.98%, according to the peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet. The shot has been approved for emergency use in 10 countries. The trials encompassed 36,000 adults in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan and Russia. It didn’t include analysis against recent variants such as delta and omicron, the study authors said.
Singapore Sees 41% Jump in Imported Cases (8:53 a.m. HK)
Singapore’s imported cases of Covid-19 rose 41% to 76 as of noon of Dec. 22 from the previous day, data from the Ministry of Health show.
The number is ticking up this month, and prompted the government to halt sale of quarantine-free travel lane tickets from Thursday.
Australia’s Hospitals Cope With Surge (8:45 a.m. HK)
Australia’s most-populous state, New South Wales, detected 5,715 new Covid cases on Thursday, a 52% jump from the previous record posted a day earlier.
While the surging outbreaks there and in other states are causing havoc to Australians’ Christmas plans, officials are placing more importance on the number of people needing serious treatment in the hospital, which is so far proving manageable.
A total of 349 people in New South Wales, which includes Sydney, are in the hospital — the most since the start of November. But the number in intensive care units is at 45, compared with 77 almost two months ago when delta was the dominant variant.
Cases in Los Angeles Double on Omicron (7:37 a.m. HK)
Los Angeles County Public Health confirmed 6,509 new cases, 162 additional Omicron cases, and 16 additional deaths.
The increase represents more than double yesterday’s case count. This rise is one of the steepest increases seen over the course of the pandemic, reflecting circulation of the omicron variant, the authority said in a statement.
The positivity rate was 4.5%, up from 1.9% a week ago.
India Study Finds Large Rise in Excess Deaths (7:30 a.m. HK)
Excess deaths in the eastern Indian city of Chennai increased 41% from typical mortality levels during the pandemic, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, which adds further evidence of large-scale under counting of Covid-19 deaths in India.
Most excess deaths in Chennai during period occurred amid India’s devastating second-wave, according to researchers from the state government of Tamil Nadu, the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, the University of California Berkeley and Johns Hopkins.
Colorado Ski Country’s Mask Mandate (3:30 p.m. NY)
A surge in cases — believed to be the omicron variant – is triggering a mandatory mask order in Colorado ski country at the peak of the holiday travel season.
The Eagle County Board of Health, meeting in an emergency session Wednesday, reinstated an indoor mask mandate “regardless of vaccination status.” The popular resort towns of Vail and Avon are located in Eagle County.
“The decision was made in response to alarming news about the rise of Covid-19 cases,” according to a statement issued by Eagle County government. “During the course of a week, medical providers reported a dramatic spike in the number of sick individuals.”
California to Keep Schools Open, Provide Tests (2:05 p.m. NY)
Rather than close classrooms as omicron infections surge, California will provide one or two rapid coronavirus tests for every public school student returning from winter break, Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
California also will extend hours at state-run testing facilities and require booster shots for health-care workers to stem rising infections.
Although California recorded the nation’s first omicron case, Newsom has resisted a new round of business or school closures. Instead, he has pushed for vaccinations, boosters and ramped-up testing to limit the variant’s spread. More than 87% of the state’s population over the age of 5 has received at least one vaccine dose, and 8.7 million of its 40 million people have received a booster shot.
Cirque Du Soleil Cancels Some NYC Shows (1:40 p.m. NY)
Cirque Du Soleil is canceling some of its New York City shows due to breakthrough cases among people in its production.
Cirque du Soleil and MSG Entertainment said it would cancel the shows for “‘Twas the Night Before…” at Madison Square Garden due to staff Covid cases and plan to resume the show on Dec. 28. Tickets for affected shows will be fully refunded, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
In general, MSG has said its concerts, shows and events will go on as planned despite a spike in Covid cases in New York that has jumped six-fold in the last month.
Duke Joins U.S. Colleges Going Online (1 p.m. NY)
Add Duke University to the list of colleges — including Harvard and Stanford — that will begin the January semester online due to the rapid spread of the omicron varient. Classes will be held remotely beginning Jan. 5, and in-person instruction for undergraduates and most graduate and professional school programs is expected to resume on Jan. 10, Duke said Wednesday.
Upon return to campus, Duke students should expect to submit proof of Covid boosters shots before the end of January. A growing number of schools, including the University of Michigan and Michigan State, are requiring boosters. The American College Health Association is recommending booster shots for all students, faculty and staff on college campuses.
Pfizer Pill Gets U.S. Clearance (12:35 p.m. NY)
U.S. regulators gave emergency authorization to Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 pill for people at high risk of severe complications, bringing a more convenient treatment option to patients at a critical point in the pandemic.
The drug Paxlovid becomes the first at-home medication authorized for Covid-19. It is expected to become a potent weapon in battling the virus once production gears up, giving high-risk patients an easy-to-use treatment they can take from home.
D.C. to Require Vaccine Proof at Restaurants (12:33 p.m. NY)
Washington, D.C., will require restaurants and bars to verify that patrons ages 12 and older have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, Mayor Muriel Bowser said. The rule takes effect Jan. 15.
Spain Brings Back Outdoor Masks (11:45 a.m. N Y)
Spain will reintroduce compulsory use of masks outdoors. The decision was announced in a meeting by Prime Minsiter Pedro Sanchez in a meeting with the leaders of the country’s leaders Wednesday, and will first need approval by the government’s Cabinet, a formality. The government has also said it will assign members of the armed forces to vaccination tasks, as it seeks to massively roll out third jabs.
U.K. Reports Over 100,000 New Cases (11:10 a.m. NY)
The U.K. reported a record 106,122 new coronavirus cases on Dec. 22, according to government data.
Amazon Requires Masks for Warehouse Workers (11 a.m. NY)
Amazon warehouse employees in the U.S. will be required to wear face masks at work beginning Wednesday, CNBC reported, citing a notice sent to employees on Tuesday and confirmation from a company spokesperson.
Booster Focus May Prolong Pandemic, WHO Says (11 a.m. NY)
The focus of immunizations must remain on decreasing deaths and severe disease and blanket booster programs are set to exacerbate vaccine inequity as about 20% of all daily doses currently administered are booster shots or an additional dose, according to the World Health Organization.
“Blanket booster programs are likely to prolong the pandemic rather than end it by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
NYC Public Hospitals to Ban Most Visitors (10:40 a.m. NY)
New York City’s public hospitals said on Wednesday that the system would begin banning most visitors amid the Covid spike, spurred by a recent outbreak in one of the hospitals. The visitation rules won’t be as restrictive as they were during the height of the pandemic in 2020 as women in labor, children and hospice patients will still be able to receive visitors.
Privately run Mount Sinai Health System also said it would limit visitors.
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