China Blocks WHO Team; India Rollout Stymied: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization’s director-general complained about China’s delay in granting visas to an incoming WHO team seeking to investigate Covid-19’s origins. Singapore began an additional seven day testing routine for newly arrived foreign workers.

In Europe, one out of 50 people has coronavirus in England now, the British government said. Germany extended its lockdown and tightened restrictions, while Italy strengthened some measures to counter the risk of a resurgence. Denmark raised its Covid-19 alert level to the maximum.

In the U.S., vaccinations are lagging in New York City, which has administered only about 119,000 doses out of the 480,550 delivered. New Jersey reported 138 deaths, the most since May, and 5,400 new cases.

Key Developments:

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China Cluster Grows (8:52 a.m. HK)

China’s northeastern Covid-19 cluster continues to grow, with 23 confirmed local cases reported on Wednesday. All but three were detected in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. Shijiazhuang city was recently ordered to roll out a mass testing campaign covering a population of 11 million, according to a press briefing late Tuesday. The city will also suspend in-person classes for young children.

South Korean Cases Climb to 840 (8:42 a.m. HK)

South Korea reported 840 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, versus 715 the previous day, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website. Of the total, 809 were locally infected with 263 new cases in Seoul.

WHO Team Encounters China Visa Issues (8:04 a.m. HK)

The WHO team investigating the origins of the Covid-19 virus has been temporarily prevented from entering China because of visa issues, according to Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalized the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China,” Tedros said in a briefing Tuesday. “I am very disappointed with this news given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute.”

Tedros said he has been in contact with senior Chinese officials, who assured him that China is speeding up the procedure.

The delay comes as Beijing faces criticism for stonewalling efforts to trace the virus’s origins. WHO experts were kept out of Wuhan in 2020 and an independent probe was rebuffed.

Singapore Extends Testing for Some (7:26 a.m. HK)

Singapore is requiring an additional seven day testing routine for newly arrived foreign workers, adding to the 14-day stay-home notice currently mandated, to minimize risk of Covid-19 cases in dormitories. The rule takes effect Jan. 6.

Separately, the government defended the use of contact tracing data in police investigations, as a senior lawmaker said information from the widely-adopted program would only be used for serious crimes. TraceTogether is being used by 78% of Singapore’s population. According to its website, the program does not collect data about individual GPS locations, Wifi or mobile networks being used. But a clause about data being only used to contact trace people exposed to the coronavirus was removed and replaced with a statement noting that police “can obtain any data, including TraceTogether data, for criminal investigations.”

Japan’s Latest Developments (6:52 a.m. HK)

An expert panel tasked with advising the Japanese government on virus measures said the outbreak in Tokyo and surrounding areas has been “explosive” and strident measures need to be taken, including declaring a state of emergency, according to findings published late Tuesday.

The Japanese government will establish criteria for lifting the state of emergency based on six infection indicators, the Nikkei reported. A state of emergency will be lifted if the infection status falls below stage 4, the highest rank of indicators that a virus expert panel set. The government will pay particular attention to the number of new cases per 100,000 people each week. If the number exceeds 25, the state of emergency period would be extended; for Tokyo that would equal 500 new cases per day.

The Nikkei also reported that the government will continue to suspend its “Go To Travel” campaign after Jan. 12 during a state of emergency. Japan will compensate operators 35% of fees and offer cancellation for free.

Separately, the Japanese government will re-introduce tighter capacity restrictions on events in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, the Mainichi reported, citing an unidentified government official. Japan is considering capping large-scale events to no more than 1,000 or 2,000 people from 5,000 now, as well as restricting movie theaters and concerts.

Indonesia Plans to Set Up Plasma Bank (6:45 a.m. HK)

The Indonesia government called for people to become donors for a convalescent plasma bank to boost the Covid-19 recovery rate, Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for pandemic task force, said in a Tuesday briefing.

Pricing Delays Hold Back India’s Vaccine Rollout (5 a.m. HK)

Tens of millions of doses prepared for India are sitting in storage despite having been authorized for use.

While distribution in other nations started soon after approval with pricing deals signed ahead of time, New Delhi and Serum Institute of India Ltd. -- the world’s biggest vaccine maker by volume and AstraZeneca Plc’s local partner -- have engaged in months of haggling behind closed doors and are yet to sign a formal supply agreement. That has left at least 70 million vaccine doses in limbo despite the urgent need in a country facing the world’s second-largest outbreak.

Johnson Says 1 in 50 in England Has Covid (3 a.m. HK)

One person in every 50 now has coronavirus in England, the British government said, as medics raced to vaccinate millions of people against the disease.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 23% of all over-80s in England have now been given a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, meaning some of the most vulnerable patients are getting the protection they need.

More than 1 million people in the country are infected, while in London one in 30 people are infected.

Indians Concerned About Vaccination (2:45 a.m. HK)

A survey of Indian citizens conducted after their country granted emergency approval to two coronavirus vaccines over the weekend found that 69% remained hesitant around getting Covid-19 jabs and wouldn’t rush to get them immediately -- the same level as last month before the regulatory nods.

Poor communication in India has “led to a level of distrust building amongst citizens,” said LocalCircles, a New Delhi-based pollster that received 8,723 responses to a question about vaccine hesitancy. Many Indians don’t believe enough information is “available when it comes to vaccine side-effects, efficacy, etc. from trials, which combined with declining case loads in India are top reasons why people are becoming hesitant.”

WHO Advisers Warn on Dose Intervals (2:15 a.m. HK)

Experts advising the World Health Organization on vaccine policies recommended against spreading the interval between two doses beyond 28 days, following a move by the U.K. to extend the period between shots to as much as 12 weeks in an effort to maximize coverage.

Countries facing “exceptional circumstances of vaccine supply constraints” can delay administration of the second dose of two-shot vaccines for a few weeks, according to a statement from Alejandro Cravioto, chairman of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, but data on safety and efficacy after only one dose is lacking.

People in High-Risk Chinese City Asked to Stay (1:30 a.m. HK)

China’s Dalian city announced that people in mid-to-high Covid-19 risk areas shouldn’t leave the city, and those in lower-risk areas have to provide a negative Covid test proof from the past three days if they need to depart, according to a statement from the city.

Separately, Shijiazhuang city, which reported 30 asymptomatic Covid-19 cases on Jan. 4, will suspend in-person classes at primary schools, middle schools and kindergartens, according to the city’s education bureau.

NYC Mayor Rips Cuomo’s Hospital Fine Threat (12 a.m. HK)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed back against Governor Andrew Cuomo’s threat to levy fines on hospitals that don’t administer vaccines quickly enough.

“Why don’t we stop talking about fines and start talking about the freedom to vaccinate?” de Blasio said during a Tuesday briefing.

New York City has administered only about 119,000 doses out of the 480,550 vaccines delivered. The city began inoculations in mid-December. “I take full responsibility” for speeding up the vaccinations, the mayor said.

Mitchell Katz, president of the city Health & Hospitals system, said everyone in all 11 public hospitals involved in direct patient care has been vaccinated in the past three weeks. His next goal is to vaccinate all staff, he said.

New York City’s Covid-19 infection data trended lower last weekend, with the seven-day average of new cases dropping to 4,064 as of Sunday, from 4,402 the previous day, and hospitalizations for that day totaling 210, just 10 above the public health safety threshold, after hitting a two-week high of 243 on Dec. 28.

Citywide tests had a 9.03% positivity rate over a two-week average as of Sunday, down from 9.22%. The rate of hospitalization in the population stood at 4.07 per 100,000 for the second consecutive day.

Germany Restricts Movement (11:35 p.m. HK)

Germany extended its lockdown and tightened restrictions as pressure mounts on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to contain the coronavirus spread and speed up vaccinations.

Merkel and state leaders agreed on Tuesday to limit non-essential travel to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) for people living in areas with more than 200 cases per 100,000 people, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

U.K. Covid Variant Found in Paris Region (8:24 p.m. HK)

The more transmissible Covid variant discovered in the U.K. has been found in a patient in the Paris region, Paris hospitals head Martin Hirsch said on France 2 TV. Health authorities have completed contact tracing on the patient and the case “is under control,” Hirsch said.

Hirsch expects Paris region hospitals and nursing homes to vaccinate more than 10,000 staff and residents this week. French officials have come under fire for lagging behind other countries in rolling out vaccines. “For the next three weeks, we have the locations, we have the people, we have the doses, and we’re pressing ahead,” Hirsch said.

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