French Cafes Reopen; India Deaths Reach Record: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- France loosened a months-long lockdown on Wednesday, allowing restaurants to serve customers on terraces and cinemas and museums to reopen to the public.

In India, daily deaths reached a record, even as new infections reported in the country declined from the highs of early May. Taiwan extended a soft lockdown island-wide, while the virus continued to rampage through Thailand’s prisons.

New infections in Malaysia rose to the highest since the pandemic began, even after the government imposed nationwide restrictions on movement to curb the spread. Serbia received a delivery of 440,000 vaccine doses from China to immunize its military.

Key Developments:

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China Donates Vaccines to Serbia (7:16 a.m. NY)

Some 440,000 vaccines made by China’s Sinopharm were flown to Serbia, of which 240,000 were paid for and 200,000 were donated by China’s national defense ministry for inoculation of Serbia’s military.

Serbia’s defense minister welcomed the delivery at the airport. The Balkan country, a candidate for European Union membership, has imported more than 3.5 million Sinopharm shots, as well as jabs from western and Russian drugmakers.

French Minister Hopes to Turn Corner (7:12 a.m. NY)

France hopes to “turn the Covid-19 page” in November or December, when a big enough part of the population is vaccinated, and if there are no new virus variants, Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview with the LCI TV channel.

While he’s optimistic, “we will remain vigilant and the French people should remain vigilant” to avoid a fourth wave of the pandemic, he said. The health crisis isn’t over yet, but the French “shouldn’t live in fear” until then, Veran added.

Malaysia Reports Record New Cases (3:27 p.m. HK)

Malaysia reported 6,075 new cases, the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic began, even after the government imposed nationwide restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the virus.

Daily cases this month topped 4,000 for the first time since February amid the detection of new variants. The Southeast Asian nation is also struggling with the slow pace of inoculation, with less than 3% of the population fully vaccinated.

French Cafes, Cinemas Open (3:03 p.m. HK)

French cafe and restaurant terraces, as well as museums and cinemas, opened on Wednesday after a months-long lackdown. An accelerating vaccination campaign and a third round of curbs on public life have begun to slow the virus’s spread, with a noticeable drop in ICU occupancy.

Should the situation worsen again, the easing of restrictions would be called into question, President Emmanuel Macron told journalists as he and Prime Minister Jean Castex sat at a cafe to mark the day.

Mauritius Detects Variants (2:47 p.m. HK)

Mauritius confirmed nine cases of the variant first detected in South Africa and two initially found in the U.K., according to Health Minister Kailesh Jagutpal.

The Indian Ocean island nation, whose economy is reliant on tourism, said 122 of 135 local samples showed the B.1.1.318, “a variant of interest detected on majority of cases” during its second wave of infections, Jagutpal told lawmakers.

Taiwan Extends Soft Lockdown (2:29 p.m. HK)

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control raised the island-wide alert level, extending containment measures to all of Taiwan, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said at a briefing.

The restrictions limit the number of people who can gather and the government is urging companies to adopt social-distancing measures. Curbs were already in place for Taipei and New Taipei City.

The new limits follow a growing number of cases outside the Taipei area. Taiwan added 267 local cases Wednesday, including 129 in New Taipei City, 70 in Taipei City and 28 in Changhua County.

UAE, Bahrain Plan Sinopharm Boosters (1:37 p.m. HK)

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will offer a third Sinopharm shot to people who’ve already had two doses, amid concerns over the efficacy of the vaccine.

Bahrain will prioritize front-line workers, residents older than 50 and those with underlying conditions for the booster shots. The Gulf nations, which approved the Sinopharm vaccine late last year, are among the first in the world to unveil plans for booster shots.

India’s Record Deaths (11:57 a.m. HK)

India’s daily deaths rose by a record 4,529 to reach 283,248, government data showed.

New cases totaled 267,334. That’s way down from the daily highs of more than 400,000 infections that were recorded earlier this month.

Asia’s Virus Surge Has Traders Seek Data (11:22 a.m. HK)

Equity investors in Asia are screening hospitalization rates and watching predictions on virus peaks as countries in the region struggle with a fresh jump in cases.

The pandemic’s resurgence has already worsened Asian stocks’ performance against global peers this year. With efforts by countries to reopen their economies taking a hit, the severity of restrictions, the pace of increase in caseloads, the preparedness of governments and progress in vaccination rollouts have become key yardsticks for stock traders.

Okinawa to Seek Emergency Declaration: Jiji (10:47 a.m. HK)

Okinawa in southern Japan will ask the central government to expand a coronavirus state of emergency to include the prefecture, Jiji reported in a one-line dispatch.

Bankers Among Singapore’s New Cases (10:04 a.m. HK)

Employees at DBS, HSBC and Mizuho Bank Ltd. were among 27 new coronavirus cases identified in the local community by Singapore authorities on Tuesday as the number of unlinked infections in the country persists.

Eleven of the 27 confirmed cases in the community have not been traceable. There are now 19 active virus clusters in the country, up from 11 a week earlier, according to health ministry data. The government is lengthening the time between vaccination doses in an effort to administer first shots to more adults as it races to stem transmissions.

Thailand’s Prison Case Flareup (9:15 a.m. HK)

Infections spread further among inmates and workers in Thai prisons, accounting for almost half the 3,394 new cases reported Wednesday. In all, more than 10,000 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in about a dozen densely-packed Thai prisons.

Thailand to Borrow $22 Billion for Relief (8:51 a.m. HK)

Thailand plans to borrow an additional 700 billion baht ($22.3 billion) to fund measures to counter the worst wave of Covid-19 to hit Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, people familiar with the matter said.

A meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Tuesday approved the new borrowing plan from the finance ministry, the people said, declining to be identified before a public announcement.

Quebec to End Curfew, Reopen Restaurants (6:59 a.m. HK)

Quebec, the Canadian epicenter of the crisis early on in the pandemic, has announced a reopening plan as the local government estimates 75% of adults will be at least partially vaccinated by June 15.

A curfew in place since January will be lifted on May 28. Three days later, restaurants will be able to open in most regions of Quebec, followed by bar patios on June 11. The government is also set to allow visits inside private homes from June 14.

Serum Sees Shot Export Delays Until Year-End (6:00 a.m. HK)

India’s Serum Institute will prioritize making vaccines for its home country, delaying deliveries to other nations and the World Health Organization-backed Covax initiative until the end of the year. The firm, the largest vaccine manufacturer, is licensed to churn out at least one billion doses of AstraZeneca’s shot.

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