U.K.’s Lockdown Dilemma, Russia to Export Vaccines: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Covid-19 infections are rising across much of the U.K., piling pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he weighs whether to delay plans to unlock the economy later this month. Russia said it aims to to supply 800 million people outside the country with its Sputnik V vaccine this year.

Germany’s health minister has said demand for Covid-19 shots will continue to outstrip supply for several more weeks as the country closes in on giving half the population their first shot. France will allow vaccinated travelers from the European Union to enter without showing negative tests starting June 9.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc will open their offices in Hong Kong to all employees starting on Monday, in a further sign that the Asian financial hub is getting back to full business. Japan is sending some of its shots to Taiwan, which has been struggling to procure its own supplies and blamed China for impeding shipments.

Key Developments:

Maldives Sees Rapid Virus Drop, Looks to Quick Tourism Rebound (9:22 a.m. NY)

Maldives expects a swift reduction in Covid-19 cases in weeks, as it ramps up vaccination and looks to ease movement restrictions in anticipation of a rebound in tourism next month.

New cases on the Indian Ocean island nation fell to 648 on June 3 from 1,299 a week earlier, when the government introduced a 16-hour curfew to last until at least June 9. Maldives suffered the world’s fastest spread of the virus last month, even as 42% of its people had been inoculated.

Germany Takes Italy, Czech Republic and Austrian and Swiss Regions Off Risk Area List (8:48 a.m. NY)

Germany removed Italy, the Czech Republic and several regions in Switzerland and Austria from its list of designated coronavirus risk areas on Friday, according to Germany’s RKI public health institute.

The change allows travelers to avoid quarantining in Germany so long as they haven’t been to a virus risk area in the preceding 10 days. People arriving by plane will still require a negative test result to enter.

Hong Kong Locks Down Block For Covid Testing After Variant Found (8:37 a.m.)

The Hong Kong government ordered residents in a block of a building in Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories to stay inside and undergo testing for Covid-19, after a preliminary positive case of unknown origin was found.

Norway Shortens Entry Quarantine for Vaccinated Travelers (8:36 a.m. NY)

People who have recently received a vaccination or who have recovered from Covid-19, as well as children under the age of 12 will be able to leave entry quarantine in the event of a negative test taken three days after arrival, Health and Care Services Minister Bent Hoie told reporters in Oslo.

Scotland Reports Jump in Daily New Cases Ahead of Easing Curbs (7:34 a.m. NY)

Scotland reported the highest daily number of new coronavirus cases in almost four months during the last 24 hours, just a day before much of the country will see a significant easing of restrictions on movement and social interaction.

Almost 1,000 new cases of the virus were identified on Thursday, the biggest daily increases since Feb. 17, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told reporters in Edinburgh. While the semi-autonomous Scottish government, which is responsible for health and other areas of the economy, has warned that the country is now seeing a third wave of the pandemic, progress with vaccination means that the link between new cases and serious illness and death “appears to be weakening,” she said.

U.K. Covid Infection Rate Rises as Johnson Weighs More Unlocking (7:16 a.m.)

Covid infections are rising across much of the U.K., piling pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he weighs whether to delay plans to unlock the economy later this month.

Cases of the virus in England rose to 1 in 640 in the week through May 29 from 1 in 1,120 a week earlier, according to data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics. Its weekly Coronavirus infection survey also showed the rate more than tripling in Wales, a small rise in Northern Ireland, and a slight drop in Scotland following a significant rise the previous week.

FDA OKs Lower Dose of Regen-Cov Antibody to Treat Covid-19 (7:04 a.m. NY)

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said the FDA updated the emergency use authorization to include a lower dose for Regen-Cov, the company’s antibody cocktail to treat Covid-19.

Russia Says ‘Significant’ Part of India-Made Sputnik for Export (6:38 a.m. NY)

Russia said it has reached an accord with India allowing a “significant part” of Sputnik V produced there to be exported to third countries, potentially giving a boost to its ambitions for broader global use of its Covid-19 vaccine.

India will be one of the main production hubs for the Russian vaccine, along with China and South Korea, Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, which backed Sputnik V’s development and is in charge of its foreign sales, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday.

In total, 20 manufacturers from 14 countries are either already making or will soon make Sputnik V, Dmitriev said. The goal is to have the capacity to supply 800 million people outside Russia with the vaccine this year, the RDIF chief said.

U.K. Authorizes Pfizer Covid Vaccine for Use in Adolescents (6:34 a.m. NY)

The U.K. drugs regulator authorized the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for use in 12- to 15-year-olds as a number of countries move to inoculate children in a bid to end the pandemic.

Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it extended the approval of the vaccine down to adolescents after concluding the shot had a positive safety profile in this age group, according to a statement. The U.S. and European Union also authorized the vaccine for use in 12- to 15-year-olds last month.

France Loosens Entry Rules for Vaccinated EU Travelers (6:14 a.m. NY)

France will allow vaccinated travelers from the European Union to enter without showing negative Covid-19 tests starting June 9, a move designed to ease travel before the traditional summer holiday season.

The looser rules unveiled Friday for one of the world’s top destinations will organize countries into three categories, with visitors from so-called “green” nations accepted with proof of vaccination. These include all EU members as well as seven others ranging from Australia and Japan to Singapore and South Korea.

Singapore’s Daily Local Virus Cases at Nearly One-Month Low (4:24 p.m. HK)

Singaporean authorities detected seven new coronavirus cases in the community, marking the lowest daily total since May 10 and signaling that a recent outbreak could be coming under control.

The drop in new local cases comes a day after infections rose to 35, the highest in three weeks, as the government included cases from a care home in its daily count. Singapore imposed tougher restrictions in mid-May for a month.

Germany’s Vaccine Demand Set to Continue Outstripping Supply (3:45 p.m. HK)

Demand for Covid-19 vaccines in Germany will continue to outstrip supply for several more weeks as the country nears the milestone of administering a first shot to half the population, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.

After a sluggish start, Germany’s vaccination drive has accelerated in recent months, and company doctors are due to join the campaign starting next week. More than 50 million doses had been administered as of Thursday, with roughly a fifth of the population fully inoculated, according to health ministry data.

Fauci Says Would Like to See Wuhan Records (2:53 p.m. HK)

Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with the Financial Times that he would like to see the medical records of three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, who reportedly became sick in November 2019 and those for six miners that became ill after entering a bat cave in 2012.

These medical records, according to Fauci, could shed some light on how the coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 and caused the Covid-19 pandemic “either started spreading naturally or went through the lab.”

Previously he told MSNBC that the virus is more likely to have come from animal but the reports of sick researchers give more credence to the possibility of a “lab leak.”

Danish PM Gets Shots After Five-Month Wait (1:42 p.m. HK)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen got her first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Friday in Copenhagen. At 43, Frederiksen is the youngest prime minister in the Nordic country’s history and she had to wait more than 5 months into the country’s vaccine program, which prioritizes by age.

Singapore Tightens Controls With Guangdong (1:13 p.m. HK)

Singaporean authorities will tighten border controls for travelers coming from Guangdong, China, from June 5 due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the province.

Travelers from Guangdong will have to go through as much as 21-day quarantine, Singapore’s government said in a statement. Singapore citizens and other long-term passholders coming from the province will undergo a seven-day quarantine at their place of residence.

Doctors Without Borders Boost Peru Relief (12:59 p.m. HK)

Doctors Without Borders has expanded its intervention efforts in Peru with a new facility in Cusco, to help relieve the pressure on treatment of the more critical cases.

Only 11% of the Peruvian population has received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and less than 4% is fully vaccinated, the group said. On Monday, Peru’s official death toll almost tripled after a government review of data, giving it the highest per-capita mortality rate in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Tokyo Ward to Prioritize Youth for Shots (9:40 a.m. HK)

Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward said it aims to prioritize young people in their 20s and 30s when it begins vaccinating those under the age of 59 in July, the Asahi newspaper reported.

Wards Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi told reporters Wednesday that the younger age group would be prioritized with essential workers for shots considering that they come into contact with people more often.

Japan’s vaccination drive, which had gotten off to a slow start, began to pick up speed last month. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Thursday it would open five mass vaccinations sites with capacity for 5,000 shots a day in July, Jiji reported. It’s looking to moving up the timeline to finish vaccinating all residents in the capital to within this year from a previous March 2022 target.

Los Angeles to Close Four Vaccination Sites (8:33 a.m. HK)

Los Angeles plans to shut four large vaccination sites including the Forum, a popular sports and concert venue, and shift appointments to nearby locations, the county’s health department said.

The move comes as demand for vaccinations decline as the situation improves, with the test positivity rate falling to 0.4% earlier in the week. The rate stands at 0.5% Thursday.

“As vaccine demand has shifted and the County has significantly increased the number of sites served by mobile teams, Public Health will transition our four large capacity vaccination sites to smaller community sites,” the department said.

Japan to Ship Vaccines to Taiwan (8:08 a.m. HK)

Japan is planning later this month to send some of its Covid-19 vaccine to Taiwan, which has been struggling to procure its own supplies and blamed China for impeding shipments of the shots.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told parliament Thursday that Taiwan has an urgent need for supplies of the vaccine until July, when its domestic production will be ramped up. The shortage amid rising case numbers in Taiwan has raised fears of a health crisis that could hurt its semiconductor production, which is crucial for global industry.

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