(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance approach could keep the Asian financial hub cut off from most of the world until 2024, according to a draft report by the European Chamber of Commerce in the city.
New York state has seen an 86% decrease in cases since its Jan. 7 peak. Singapore cases spiked while South Korea and Germany posted record numbers.
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are starting a study of a Covid-19 vaccine that targets the omicron variant, enrolling participants in a clinical trial that will evaluate the shot’s ability to prompt an immune response in adults. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus moved closer to serving a second five-year term.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 355 million; deaths pass 5.6 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.99 billion shots administered
- Deaths months after Covid point to pandemic’s grim aftermath
- Almost half the world trails IMF vaccine targets to end pandemic
- Fading omicron risk to favor travel retail in 2022, not delivery
- Is Covid becoming endemic? What would that mean?: QuickTake
New Thai Cases (2:51 p.m. HK)
Thailand has detected 14 cases of omicron’s sub-variant known as BA.2, according to the nation’s Health Ministry. Of the total, nine were found among travelers from overseas and the remaining were local transmissions, said Supakit Sirilak, head of the ministry’s Medical Sciences Department.
Omicron Subvariant Is Still Minority: WHO (2:41 p.m. HK)
While several countries are reporting increases in the omicron subvariant BA.2, the main BA.1 variant still represents 98.8% of the genetic sequences collected and submitted to the international GISAID database, the World Health Organization said in its weekly Covid report. The WHO said it’s continuing to monitor all subvariants of omicron.
China’s Vaccine May Fall Short (2:36 p.m. HK)
A vaccine being developed in China using messenger RNA, the new technology that has become the backbone for immunizing much of the world, may fall short of the benefits generated by shots from Pfizer Inc., BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. The first published study of the experimental vaccine from Walvax Biotechnology Co., Suzhou Abogen Biosciences Co.and the Chinese military generated twice the level of neutralizing antibodies seen in people who had recovered from a Covid-19 infection, though only at an intermediate dose. People given slightly more or slightly less produced fewer of the protective antibodies than those who recovered from an earlier infection, the study found.
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Taiwan Adds 46 Local Cases (2:31 p.m. HK)
Taiwan reports 46 local cases and 46 imported cases of Covid-19 Wednesday, according to a statement from Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. New Taipei City-based Askey Computer Corp., an affiliate of Asustek Computer Inc., is continuing its production halt after reporting new cases, health minister Chen Shih-chung said.
Japan Booster Target (1:46 p.m. HK)
Japan is set to miss a target to give Covid-19 booster shots to almost 15 million people this month after the fast spread of the omicron variant threw initial rollout plans into disarray. About 2.6 million people had received their third dose as of Tuesday, about 18% of the target for January, according to government figures.
Winter Olympics Infections (1:31 p.m. HK)
China reported nine infections among incoming air travelers and another four in the closed loop involved in the Winter Olympics Tuesday, who are all from a category of “stakeholders”, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics said in a statement. Stakeholders include broadcasting staffers, members of international federations, marketing partners’ personnel, Olympic and Paralympic family members and media and workforce staff members.
Grim Covid Milestone on ‘Australia Day’ (1:30 p.m. HK)
New South Wales state reported Wednesday that it passed 1 million Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, just as people gathered across the nation for Australia Day events.
While citizenship ceremonies, celebrations and protest rallies all increased the risk of further infections, there were also some signs that the number of people being hospitalized and in intensive care may be plateauing. Hospital admissions in NSW, the country’s most populous state, dropped slightly to 2,794 and ICU numbers eased to 175 over the past 24 hours, according to government data.
In Queensland state, where the health system is also under strain due to the spread of the omicron variant, officials expressed optimism that infections may peak soon in the south-east. State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters that the peak already looked to have been reached at the Gold Coast.
Royal Caribbean Ships (11:47 a.m. HK)
Royal Caribbean is considering relocating its cruise ships to Singapore due to the stringent Covid-19measures in Hong Kong and high operating costs, local media outlet HK01 reported Tuesday, citing unidentified people. The company may also stop its “cruise-to-nowhere” business in Hong Kong.
Record Cases in Germany (10:38 a.m. HK)
Germany reported a record 164,000 new Covid-19 cases, compared with 126,955 the day before, according to the country’s public health authority RKI. Reported new deaths associated with the virus rose by 166, bringing the total to 117,126. The 7-day incidence rate also rose to record 940.6 per 100,000 people
Hong Kong Isolation (9:39 a.m. HK)
The city’s zero-tolerance approach could fuel a large-scale exodus of international workers and executives, according to a draft report by the European Chamber of Commerce in the city. The most likely scenario for Hong Kong’s exit from its isolation is to wait for China to finish developing a powerful messenger RNA vaccine and immunize its 1.4 billion people, the business group said in an internal document seen and verified by Bloomberg.
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New Zealand’s New Plan (9:32 a.m. HK)
New Zealand will reduce isolation periods and change the definition of contacts in a phased response. The government plans three phases, with the first now underway as policy makers take a “stamp it out” approach, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said Wednesday in Wellington. Phase two will occur when omicron cases have spread in the community and phase three will be when there are thousands of cases a day.
Hong Kong Passenger Volumes Slump (9:18 a.m. HK)
Air passenger volumes in Hong Kong continued their free fall last year, plunging to 1.35 million, the lowest since 1967, data from the Airport Authority Hong Kong and the city’s Census and Statistics Department show. Some of the world’s strictest border and Covid quarantine measures saw passenger numbers at the Asian financial hub’s airport drop 84.7% from 2020, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a statement Tuesday.
China’s Local Cases (9:07 a.m. HK)
China reported 24 local Covid-19 cases on Jan. 25, with bulk of that coming from Beijing.
The capital became China’s latest epicenter just as the city prepares to host the Winter Olympics. The city found 14 new cases on Tuesday, as well as five people who didn’t show any symptoms, according to the National Health Commission.
While China’s total case count of 24 is significantly lower than previous triple-digits highs, infections have spread to the northeastern and northwestern region including provinces such as Heilongjiang and Xinjiang.
Peru Prime Minister Has Covid (9:01 a.m. HK)
Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms, according to a statement posted to Twitter by the Ministers Cabinet. Vasquez, who is fully vaccinated and received a booster shot, will carry out her duties remotely from home, the statement said.
Record South Korea Cases (8:43 a.m. HK)
South Korea’s daily Covid-19 infections jumped by more than 50% from the previous day to 13,012, fueled by the omicron variant spread, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website. Severe cases remain relatively low at 385, with 32 deaths totaling 6,620.
Singapore New Cases Spike (8:20 a.m. HK)
Singapore’s new local cases were 5,578, including those detected through rapid testings, up from 2,624 on Monday, Ministry of Health data show. Weekly infection growth rate, which compares the number of community cases in the past week to the one before, fell to 2.68 from 2.69 on Monday Jan. 24. There were 509 people hospitalized and 10 cases in ICU.
Malaysia Mulls Easing Rules for Tourists (7:58 a.m. HK)
Malaysia may relax virus protocols for international tourists who have completed their Covid-19 vaccines as well as received their booster shots, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday. Malaysia will not close the economy nor restrict movement, he added.
N.Y. Sees 86% Drop From Omicron Peak (4:05 p.m. NY)
New York state has seen an 86% decrease in cases since its Jan. 7 peak when there were more than 90,000 cases. Deaths and hospitalizations remain elevated, though, with the state reporting 158 fatalities and 9,854 hospitalization.
Although Covid cases are declining, Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday warned New Yorkers to remain cautious as people gather for Super Bowl festivities and said “the winter surge is not over.”
Covid’s Deadly Aftermath Cited in Study (2:45 p.m. NY)
Covid-19’s deadly effects manifest long after some patients leave the hospital, according to a new study that points to the pandemic’s grave aftermath.
Hospitalized patients who survived at least a week after being discharged were more than twice as likely to die or be admitted again within months, scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Oxford found. The Covid survivors also had an almost five times greater risk of dying in the following 10 months than a sample taken from the general population.
Omicron Still Threatens Hospitals, CDC Says (1:35 p.m. NY)
Rates of Covid-19 severe illness and death fell in the U.S. during the omicron surge compared with the earlier delta wave as well as last winter’s, although high case counts and deaths continue to threaten patients and health systems, according to a government report.
Even as the proportion of hospital beds used for Covid patients’ treatment rose under omicron, intensive-care unit admissions for the same patients dipped slightly, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday in a report. The highest seven-day moving average of deaths during omicron was also lower than any during the two earlier surges, the report said.
WHO’s Tedros Nominated for New Term (8:54 a.m. NY)
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus moved closer to serving a second term after securing the group’s nomination.
The WHO’s executive board’s nomination on Tuesday paves the way for his official reappointment in May. A director-general can be reappointed once, meaning Tedros is eligible for an additional term of five years. Tedros was the only candidate to be proposed.
Pfizer Starts Trial of Omicron Vaccine (6:45 a.m. NY)
Pfizer Inc. said it is starting a study of a Covid-19 vaccine that targets the omicron variant, exploring its use in previously vaccinated younger and middle-aged adults as well as those who haven’t received another coronavirus shot.
The New York-based drugmaker and its German partner, BioNTech SE, said in a statement on Tuesday that they had enrolled the first participants in a 1,420-person clinical trial involving healthy adults age 18 to 55. The study will also examine the shot’s safety and potential side effects.
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