U.K. Strain ‘Out of Control’; U.S. Nears Aid Deal: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

More than 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home as a full lockdown came into force Sunday in London and southeast England, part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s effort to contain an “out of control” new strain of the coronavirus.

U.S. Congressional negotiators are close to a compromise deal that may open the path to a final agreement on a roughly $900 billion plan to help the world’s biggest economy weather the pandemic-linked slump, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

Thai authorities closed a seaside province near Bangkok following a record spike in new cases, while Sydney widened restrictions to stem a growing outbreak. South Africa’s Mediclinic International Plc said it’s struggling with capacity constraints at its hospitals. New infections in South Korea jumped to a record, while the U.S. added 196,292 cases on Saturday.

Key Developments:

France Not Sure When Restaurants Will Reopen (5:51 p.m. HK)

France’s government can’t tell whether sectors of the economy that are shut down such as restaurants will be allowed to reopen in January or whether it will be able to conduct its planned pension reforms next year, Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday. “The priority for now is to overcome the sanitary, social and economic crisis,” she said on Europe 1 radio. “I don’t know what the economic and social situation will be like in spring so I have to remain cautious about the calendar.”

The government is still planning to resume discussions on unemployment benefits in January but must cope with uncertainty, she said. France will continue to support companies affected by current and possible future lockdown measures to preserve as many jobs as possible and boost consumer and business confidence.

U.K.’s Hancock Says Tier 4 Restrictions Likely to Remain ‘for Months’ (5:45 p.m. HK)

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the new coronavirus restrictions that came into effect last night for millions of people in England are likely to remain until the vaccine is widely distributed as the new strain of the coronavirus is “out of control.”

Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, the heath secretary said that it is more important than ever that people in Tier 4 areas behave as if they might well have the virus and that it is “more important now than ever” that people stick to the rules and reduce social contact “because this is deadly serious.” Hancock said there would be a new vote in January in parliament on the new Tier 4 restrictions.

Indonesia Reports Highest Daily Number of Virus Deaths (5:28 p.m. HK)

Indonesia reported its highest number of Covid-19 deaths in a day with 221 on Sunday, the third record this month. The country leads Southeast Asia with the most coronavirus cases at 664,930. The government has cut the year-end holidays and banned public celebrations to help curb the spread. Jakarta, the country’s virus hotspot, has also set curfews for restaurants, malls and theaters until Jan. 8.

U.K. to Extend Coronavirus Vaccinations Throughout Christmas (4:30 p.m. HK)

The U.K.’s National Health Service will power ahead with coronavirus vaccinations during the Christmas period as it seeks to step up the number of inoculations across the country, the Sunday Times reported.

Over 100,000 Pfizer vaccines will be administered nationally, including on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day to curb the spread of the mutant coronavirus strain, the newspaper reported, citing NHS sources.

Dutch Government Bars Passenger Flights From U.K. (3:36 p.m. HK)

In light of the new strain of the coronavirus spreading in the U.K., a ban on flights carrying passengers from the U.K. into the Netherlands started at 6 a.m. local time, according to a Dutch government statement. The restrictions will remain in place until Jan. 1 “at the latest.” Sampling of a case in the Netherlands in early December revealed the same virus variant as observed in the U.K. and this case is being investigated further, the statement said.

Expert Warns of Need for Partial Lockdown in Hong Kong (3:15 p.m. HK)

David Hui, a respiratory disease expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the city may need more stringent measures if it remains unable to rein in infections, Radio Television Hong Kong reported. The steps may include some sort of a partial shutdown, such as requiring people to stay at home for several hours a day and designating one person per household to go out for groceries, he was cited as saying by RTHK.

South Africa’s Mediclinic Hospitals at Capacity (3:02 p.m. HK)

As the country experiences another wave of coronavirus infections, patients seeking care within Mediclinic hospitals are exceeding previous numbers during the first peak, Gerrit de Villiers, a group general manager said in a statement. Demand in many intensive care and high care units have reached capacity, the company said. There were 10,939 new virus cases and 254 more deaths in South Africa on Saturday, according to the Health Department.

South Africa is tightening the licensing and regulation of face masks following a study that found some masks distributed to health care workers were not effective, the local Sunday Times newspaper reported. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority says the Special Investigating Unit is probing six charges against companies supplying non-compliant masks, according to the paper.

U.S. Lawmakers Reach Compromise on Key Relief Hurdle (1:40 p.m. HK)

Resolving the dispute over the future of Federal Reserve emergency lending programs authorized in the last round of stimulus for the U.S. economy will likely speed up a relief legislation in progress. Negotiators were “very close,” Schumer told reporters late Saturday. “If things continue on this path and nothing gets in the way, we’ll be able to vote tomorrow.”

Congress plans to combine the virus-related measures with $1.4 trillion in government spending for fiscal year 2021. The deal is expected to include funds for small businesses, stimulus payments for most individuals, supplemental unemployment benefits, support for vaccine distribution and resources for education, child care and housing.

Qatar to Receive Vaccine on Monday (12:15 p.m. HK)

Qatar expects to receive the first batch of a vaccine on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani said in a tweet. Iraq expects to reach a deal with Pfizer Inc. for 1.5 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine within the next few days, and aims to receive the shots in the second quarter of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, 300,000 people registered to take the Covid-19 vaccine, Arab News reported.

Malaysia to Sign Deal for AstraZeneca Vaccine: Media Report (12:03 p.m. HK)

Malaysia will sign an agreement on Monday for AstraZeneca Plc to supply Covid-19 vaccine doses to cover a fifth of the country’s population, state news agency Bernama reported, citing Health Minister Adham Baba.

The government last month ordered 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SE vaccine to inoculate about 20% of the population. It also has an agreement with the World Health Organization’s Covax facility for enough doses to vaccinate 10% of its people, Bernama reported.

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