Copa America Suspended; Eased Restrictions in Asia: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Argentina won’t host the Copa America after the organizers of South America’s largest soccer tournament suspended the event in view of “present circumstances.”

Singapore is preparing to ease restrictions in mid-June as it gets the spread of Covid-19 variants under control. Bangkok will also lift some restrictions starting June 1, including for museums, nail salons, beauty clinics and massage parlors.

The U.S. reported the lowest level of infection since the early days of the pandemic as it continues to roll out inoculations. Two U.S. disease experts said Sunday that the world needs the cooperation of the Chinese government to trace the origins of Covid-19 and prevent future pandemic threats. The precise origins of the virus remain obscure.

Key Developments:

Vietnam Presses Firms on Shots (5:29 p.m. HK)

Vietnam is asking Samsung Electronics Co. and other foreign manufacturers with plants in the country to find vaccines for their workers as it grapples with a virus surge, according to the government website.

In nearby Bac Giang province, home to Apple Inc. and Samsung suppliers, officials are working to help factories reopen after they were shuttered during the closure of four industrial parks.

Taiwan’s Situation Is Easing (5:03 p.m. HK)

Taiwan’s outbreak has been easing based on recent data, while the situation remains challenging, President Tsai Ing-wen said in an online briefing. Tsai urged the public to avoid unnecessary outings and gatherings as its Covid-19 alert remains at the third level.

Singapore Prepares to Ease Curbs (4 p.m. HK)

Singapore will probably ease restrictions in mid-June as it gets a new outbreak driven by variants under control. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that if the number of community cases falls further, authorities should be able to ease curbs that had been put in place for four weeks after June 13. As part of the strategy, school kids will be inoculated next month, and every adult who wants a shot would have one by early August.

“Barring another super-spreader or big cluster, we should be on track to bring this outbreak under control,” Lee said in a national address. “We will know for sure in another week or so.”

Bangkok Easing Some Restrictions (3:32 p.m. HK)

Bangkok, the epicenter of Thailand’s latest outbreak, will ease restrictions on some businesses from June 1 as clusters have been contained in some areas. Museums, nail salons, beauty clinics and massage parlors are among the businesses that will be allowed to resume operations from Tuesday, while other establishments remain closed in line with the capital’s current restrictions until June 14.

Thailand recorded 5,485 new infections and 19 deaths on Monday, taking the cumulative caseloads to 159,792 and 1,031, respectively. The majority of new infections reported were still found in Bangkok.

Czech Cases Fall as Country Opens (3:28 p.m. HK)

The country reported 113 new cases in 24 hours through Sunday, the lowest since Aug. 2, confirming the declining trend. The government opened most services and businesses and lifted most social distancing curbs as of Monday. The country was one of the hardest hit in Europe during winter and spring, with the second highest death toll on the continent after Hungary when adjusted for population size.

Germany Probes Reports of Fraud (2:05 p.m. HK)

Germany is investigating reports of fraud by some of the country’s 15,000 centers offering free coronavirus tests, according Health Minister Jens Spahn. Some centers have been drastically inflating the number of tests carried out and cashing in on government funds, local media have reported, and Spahn said he will discuss the claims with counterparts from Germany’s 16 states Monday morning.

Taiwan Doubles Stimulus Cap (2 p.m. HK)

Taiwan doubled the amount of stimulus available to cushion the economy from the pandemic, lifting the cap on spending to NT$840 billion ($30.4 billion). The island’s worst outbreak so far shuttered stores and forced curbs on social gatherings. Taiwan had 274 newly confirmed domestic cases on Monday and added 73 local infections to previous tallies due to test result delays.

Copa America Suspended (12:15 p.m. HK)

Argentina won’t host the Copa America after the organizers of South America’s largest soccer tournament suspended the event in the country in view of “present circumstances.” Other nations have indicated interest in being hosts, Conmebol said in a tweet. With close to 3.8 million cases, Argentina is among the 10 most-infected countries. The tournament was due to begin June 13.

Hong Kong Vaccine Inducements (11 a.m. HK)

Hong Kong’s vaccine bookings surged after developers offered a $1.4 million apartment as a prize in a draw for vaccinated residents. In Australia, Qantas Airways Ltd. is offering unlimited flights for a year among a pool of prizes for people who’ve had shots.

Elsewhere in Hong Kong, officials are allowing vaccinated directors and senior executives of major listed companies to travel globally more easily -- a significant relaxation of onerous border curbs that’s drawing a backlash from the wider population for being elitist.

Meanwhile, South Korea from Tuesday will exempt the vaccinated from a ban on family gatherings of more than eight people, adding to existing inducements. The Asian nation aims to have 14 million, or about 30% of the population, vaccinated by the end of June.

Australian State Adds Cases (10:42 a.m. HK)

Australia’s Victoria state recorded six new local Covid-19 infections Monday in addition to the five reported earlier, taking active cases to at least 54.

“I want to be very clear with everyone, this outbreak may well get worse before it gets better,” Acting State Premier James Merlino told reporters in Melbourne. “In the past 24 hours we identified many more points of concern.”

The nation’s second-most populous state has been under stay-at-home orders since May 27 and will remain so until at least June 3, when officials will assess if the latest outbreak is under control.

Guangzhou Requires Test to Leave (8:31 a.m. HK)

A negative nucleic acid test within the previous three days is mandatory for people leaving the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou by plane, train or bus, according to an official statement. One neighborhood in the metropolis is in lockdown, with state television reporting infections in the city are of the variant first detected in India.

China reported 20 confirmed local Covid-19 cases and three asymptomatic cases in Guangdong province on May 30.

Japan Wants Olympic Spectators Tested (7:32 a.m. HK)

The Japanese government is considering requiring spectators of the Tokyo Olympics to be either tested or vaccinated, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing officials who weren’t identified.

The government’s draft plan calls for spectators to present proof of a negative result from a test taken within a week of the event they’re viewing. Those who present certification of vaccination would be exempt from that requirement.

Meanwhile, Japan’s medical establishment is becoming increasingly anxious about bringing together 78,000 people from 200 countries for the games. The country is struggling to keep coronavirus infections under control and speed up vaccinations.

U.K. Backpedals on Vaccine Passports (5:40 p.m. NY)

U.K. government officials are set to ditch potential plans to force Britons to show a Covid passport to be able to attend mass events in the country, the Telegraph reported. Boris Johnson had already ruled out using Covid passports for day-to-day activities such as visiting a supermarket or a local doctor.

Meanwhile, the U.K. is considering making vaccinations mandatory for health workers, according to Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi. “It would be incumbent on any responsible government to have the debate, to do the thinking on how we go about protecting the most vulnerable by making sure those who look after them are vaccinated,” he said in a Sky News interview.

Only a handful of Covid patients being admitted to hospital have had two vaccinations, according to head of NHS Providers Chris Hopson. Based on his conversations with health bosses in hotspot area around the country, Hopson said in a Twitter thread that those who did tended to have other serious health issues and that a significant majority being admitted were not vaccinated.

Indy 500 Draws Biggest Crowd (3:54 p.m. NY)

The Indianapolis 500 was run in front of 135,000 fans, the largest U.S. sporting event since the start of the pandemic. Few fans at the motor race appeared to be wearing masks, though they were required by local ordinance.

The race, won for a fourth time by Brazilian driver Helio Castroneves, was at about 40% of its official 350,000 capacity, according to the Indy Star. Yearly attendance is usually about 300,000. The stands were empty at last year’s race.

U.S. Experts Call for Origin Probe (12:21 p.m. NY)

The world needs the cooperation of the Chinese government to trace the origins of Covid-19 and prevent future pandemic threats, two leading U.S. disease experts said Sunday.

Information to support the theory that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, has increased, said Scott Gottlieb, a commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration who now sits on the board of Pfizer Inc.

China hasn’t provided evidence to disprove that theory, while the search for signs that the virus emerged from wildlife hasn’t yielded results, he said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

Not knowing how the pandemic started puts the world at risk of future outbreaks, Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, said in a separate TV appearance.

U.S. Cases at Another Low (8:20 a.m. NY)

The U.S. added slightly more than 12,000 new cases, the fewest since the early days of the pandemic last year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. While reporting typically slows on weekends, the number was the lowest since March 23, 2020.

U.S. daily deaths fell to 362, the fewest on a Saturday in 11 months. Deaths from Covid-19 have declined almost continually since late February as a nationwide vaccination campaign took hold.

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