Germany to Quarantine Travelers From Portugal: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

The spread of the highly infectious delta variant in Europe has prompted Germany to impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers returning from Portugal, while non-vaccinated U.K. visitors to Malta will have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival. South Africa warned that a third wave of infections driven by the Indian variant could be worse than the second.

The head of the World Health Organization warned that the delta variant first detected in India is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far” and has spread in at least 85 countries, the Associated Press reported. U.S. health officials paused distribution of Eli Lilly & Co.’s combination antibody therapy because of fears it won’t combat two increasingly common coronavirus variants.

Key Developments:

Global Tracker: Cases top 180 million; deaths at 3.9 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 2.85 billion doses administeredDelta Variant Threatens to Destroy Another European SummerWhere can you fly right now? The race is on to save summerCan I be required to get vaccinated against Covid-19?: QuickTake

Germany to Quarantine Travelers from Portugal (9 a.m. NY)

Germany imposed a 14-day quarantine on travelers returning from Portugal, after the Iberian country failed to heed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s calls to do more to control the spread of the delta variant.

The measure, which will go into force Tuesday, comes after Merkel said Portugal’s decision not to tighten rules for British tourists undermined the continent’s defense against the variant spread. Unvaccinated U.K. travelers to Malta face a two-week isolation period

“What I regret is that we have still not been able to achieve uniform behavior among Member States in terms of travel restrictions,” Merkel said at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. “We have a situation in Portugal which possibly could have been avoided.”

China Vaccine Proving Effective, Adviser Says (8:33 a.m. NY)

People identified as close contacts in the recent outbreak in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong and who received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are nearly 60% protected against symptomatic diseases, while almost 80% are protected against pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, according to a Caixan media group report.

None of the fully vaccinated who are infected developed severe and critical illnesses, Zhong Nanshan, who advises the government on its Covid-19 response and treatment, said in the report.

The outbreak in Guangdong is caused by the Alpha and Delta variants.

South Africa Warns Third Wave Worse Than Second (7:16 a.m. NY)

South Africa’s acting health minister said Saturday a third wave of coronavirus infections may be being driven by the delta variant and could be worse than the second.

Hospital capacity in South Africa’s industrial hub of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, is at risk of being breached within days by surging Covid-19 cases. Weekly hospital admissions in the densely populated province are almost as high as during the height of the first wave in July, and the total number of cases is forecast to be twice as large as during the first two waves.

Sydney in Lockdown, New Zealand Restricts Travel (6:10 a.m. NY)

Greater Sydney was put into a two-week lockdown to fight an outbreak of the highly-transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus, prompting New Zealand to halt quarantine-free travel from all of Australia until June 29.

Sydney residents can only go out for reasons such as food shopping, medical care or essential work and education that can’t be done from their own homes, Australia’s New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. The decision followed the detection of a dozen more new local infections and increased exposure sites that are complicating contact tracing. The curbs will apply until July 9.

New South Wales recorded 29 new local cases in the 24 hours through 8 p.m. Friday, of which 17 had already been announced previously. Some 82 local infections have been detected since the first case in the current cluster came to light in Sydney.

Britons Heading to Malta Face Quarantine (4:58 p.m. HK)

Unvaccinated U.K. holidaymakers heading to Malta will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, the Mediterranean island nation said, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Such a requirement would come just days after Malta was added to Britain’s roster of destinations from which travelers don’t have to quarantine when arriving back in Britain. The Maltese government website still lists the U.K. as an “amber” country, meaning arrivals can show a negative Covid-19 test instead of proof of vaccination.

The report follows German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week calling on all European Union nations to impose mandatory quarantines for British travelers.

Record Daily Infections in Indonesia (5:40 p.m. HK)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the country could reach its target of giving out 1 million doses of vaccines a day in July and double the target in August.

Authorities reported a record 21,095 new cases in a 24-hour period on June 26, taking total infections to more than 2.09 million. As many as 358 people died, bringing the overall death count to 56,729.

German Recoveries Outpace New Infections (4 p.m. HK)

Active cases in Germany, western Europe’s most populous country, continued to subside as recoveries outpaced new infections, the latest data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center show. The number of new cases rose by 750, bringing the seven-day incident rate to 5.9, its lowest level since lastAugust.

Taiwan Confirms First Local Cases of Delta Variant (3:38 p.m. HK)

Taiwan discovered the first known cases of local transmission of the Covid-19 Delta variant in a cluster in the south of the country.

Six people have been confirmed with the Delta variant, including two who had traveled back from Peru, according to the nation’s disease control center. Twelve people in total have tested positive so far in the cluster.

Taiwan added 78 local cases of Covid-19 and recorded 13 deaths on Saturday, the CDC said.

Thai Clusters Grow (10 a.m. HK)

Thailand reported 4,161 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day tally this month, as new clusters continued to emerge in capital Bangkok and its adjoining provinces. While Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has resisted calls for a lockdown of the capital to quell the outbreak, his government on Friday ordered residential camps for construction workers in Bangkok and four other provinces with high numbers of Covid cases to be locked down for a month from Monday.

Construction sites and prisons have emerged as the biggest clusters of infections in Thailand, which is suffering from its worst wave so far. More than 211,500 new cases have been detected since early April, official data showed Saturday. The country also reported 51 new deaths, taking the cumulative tally to 1,870.

Some British Olympic Athletes Skip Vaccines (4:15 p.m. NY)

A small number of British athletes declined Covid vaccinations before the Tokyo Games because they’re worried about the potential of side effects impairing their performance, the Times of London reported, citing Andy Anson, chief executive officer of the British Olympic Association.

All 375 athletes and 500 support staff will undergo a PCR test 14 days before flying out and take regular lateral flow tests during the build-up to the Games.

Iceland to End Covid Restrictions Saturday (2:58 p.m. NY)

Iceland is abolishing all domestic Covid-19 restrictions, with officials saying 87% of those 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose.

The island nation, with a population of about 369,000, has seen 6,637 cases, with 30 deaths. About 48% of those 16 and over are fully vaccinated.

Iceland could be one of the first European countries to end restrictions, Health Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir said in announcing the move. The limits will officially end on Saturday.

U.S. Halts Shipments of Lilly Antibody Combo (1:55 p.m. NY)

U.S. health officials paused distribution of Eli Lilly & Co.’s combination antibody therapy because of fears it won’t combat two increasingly common coronavirus variants.

Resistance to the antibody treatment was detected among the gamma and beta variants of the virus, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical providers should use other antibody treatments from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc instead, they said.

Lilly had developed the treatment consisting of two antibodies, called bamlanivimab and etesevimab, to safeguard against variants, and the government halt highlights growing concern about how mutated forms of the virus could undermine medical tools. The gamma and beta variants together make up more than 11% of sequenced U.S. cases, according to the statement.

U.K. Officials Want Health Minister to Quit (1:37 p.m. NY)

Senior U.K. officials in Boris Johnson’s government have lost faith in Health Secretary Matt Hancock and believe he should resign after being photographed embracing a top adviser in breach of pandemic rules.

Hancock apologized and Johnson is standing by him. But senior Conservative figures, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe there is no way Hancock can keep his job. One minister said the hypocrisy of flouting rules Hancock himself helped create would finish his career.

WHO Calls Delta ‘Most Transmissible’ Among Variants (1:30 p.m. NY)

The head of the World Health Organization warned that the delta variant is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far” and has spread in at least 85 countries, the Associated Press reported.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference Friday that the lack of vaccines in poor countries has worsened the pace of transmission with the delta variant first seen in India, according to AP.

President Joe Biden on Thursday called delta the “new dangerous variant” and said it’s currently the most common variant in the U.S., and encouraged unvaccinated people to get their shots.

Chile in Talks with Moderna, Sputnik (12:35 p.m. NY)

Chile is in talks with Moderna and Sputnik for a potential third dose of vaccines, Rodrigo Yanez, trade vice minister, told Radio Pauta.

Sinovac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Cansino are the vaccines that are currently being used in Chile. The country has contracts to receive as many as 40 million vaccine doses by the end of the year and that number could increase with a third dose, Yanez said.

U.K.’s Large Events Test Shows No Outbreaks (12:20 p.m. NY)

No substantial Covid-19 outbreaks were reported among any of the nine pilot events -- including the Brit Awards and the FA Cup soccer final -- included in the first phase of a government study into whether large crowds can safely gather again.

The Events Research Programme included a total of 58,000 participants at events held in April and May at various venues across the country, with only 28 virus cases reported, according to a statement published Friday by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It noted, however, that evidence of direct transmission at the events was “challenging to determine” because of a low uptake of PCR testing before and after.

Face coverings, ventilation and testing were all found to control and reduce transmission of coronavirus at large events, according to the study. The British government has reportedly faced criticism for deciding to allow more than 60,000 people inside Wembley Stadium next month for the last stages of soccer’s European Championship.

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