U.K. Warns on Curbs; Japan Cities to Miss Targets: Virus Update
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. held out the prospect of restoring some restrictions amid a surge in new cases, just three days before it plans to drop all remaining social distancing rules.
Just one third of Japan’s major municipalities are confident they can meet the prime minister’s goal of vaccinating all their citizens by the end of November due to supply shortages.
Thailand and Australia’s most populous state New South Wales reported rising Covid-19 infections, while Singapore is weighing new restrictions as it steps up a push for residents to get vaccinated after the latest outbreak stemming from karaoke lounges.
Los Angeles County told its residents they must wear masks indoors -- even the vaccinated -- following a surge in Covid-19 cases and the spread of the delta variant.
Key Developments:
Global Tracker: Cases top 188.7 million; deaths pass 4.06 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 3.54 billion doses administeredVaccine-driven travel comeback skips major countries like U.K.U.K.’s office workers set to stay home as reopening falls flatWall Street itches for office return as variants muddy recoveryDelta engulfs Southeast Asia with world’s fastest-growing deaths
Taiwan Thanks Slovakia for Shots (3:01 p.m. HK)
Taiwan’s government appreciates that Slovakia plans to donate vaccines through overall allocation in the European Union, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says at briefing.
U.K. Warns Over Restoring Restrictions (2:56 p.m. HK)
The U.K. held out the prospect of restoring some restrictions amid a surge in new cases, just three days before it plans to drop all remaining social distancing rules.
“Of course if we get into a situation where it’s unacceptable and we do need to put back further restrictions, then that of course is something the government will look at,” Lucy Frazer, a government minister, told Sky News on Friday.
Japan to Relax Rules for Local Shots (2:27 p.m. HK)
Japan’s government plans to allow smaller clinical trials for vaccine development to help accelerate the rollout of domestic offerings, Yomiuri reports, without saying where it obtained the information.
Hungary Approves Third Vaccine Dose (1:56 p.m. HK)
Hungary approved giving a third dose of a vaccine to its citizens, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, adding there the scientific consensus is that a booster shot does no harm.
Hungary will allow third doses at least four months after the receipt of the second shot, Orban said in a state radio interview on Friday. Hungary will also make the vaccination of health-care workers mandatory, he said.
Japan Has First Patient Tied to Olympics (1:55 p.m. HK)
A person connected with the Nigerian Olympic team was hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19, broadcaster TV Asahi reports, without citing where it obtained the information. The person isn’t an athlete and was hospitalized because of being in their late 60s and having underlying medical conditions.
A Third of Japan Cities Can Meet Target (1:55 p.m. HK)
Just one-third of major municipalities in Japan are confident they can vaccinate all their residents by the end of November, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s target, according to a Nikkei survey. Local governments are responsible for most of Japan’s vaccine rollout, and some have had to pause scheduling vaccinations due to distribution bottlenecks.
Currently, 40% of the cities surveyed have already stopped or reduced new vaccination appointments, and a further 31% are either planning or considering doing so, according to the survey, which included 44 large cities outside Tokyo, plus Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward.
Tokyo recorded 1,308 new virus cases on Thursday, a six-month high. The capital is under a state of emergency to contain the spread of the virus, with the Olympics opening ceremony just a week away on July 23.
India’s Case Count Rises Past 31 Million (1:35 p.m. HK)
India added 38,949 Covid-19 cases Friday, taking the total count above 31 million. Covid-related deaths rose by 542 to 412,531, health ministry data showed. The country has administered 395.3 million vaccine doses, but only 5.7% of its population is fully inoculated, as per Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.
A former Indian central bank governor told Bloomberg that India’s monetary policy makers must sacrifice inflation targets to aid economic growth as part of extraordinary measures to fight the fallout of the pandemic, including a rise in hunger in a country which already has nearly a third of the world’s malnourished people.
BioNTech Makes 10 Times Sinovac Antibodies (11:40 a.m. HK)
There is a substantial gap in the amount of antibodies that mRNA and inactivated vaccines can generate against the virus that causes Covid-19, a Hong Kong study shows, in the latest finding on what may have contributed to the varied outcomes following mass vaccination using different types of shots.
The research, published in The Lancet on Thursday, found that antibody levels among Hong Kong health workers who have been fully vaccinated with BioNTech’s mRNA shot are about 10 times higher than those observed in the recipients of the inactivated vaccine from Sinovac Biotech.
New South Wales Struggles With Outbreak (11:20 a.m. HK)
The state recorded its third-highest tally of new virus cases for the latest surge on Friday as authorities struggle to contain the outbreak. It recorded 97 new local cases in the 24-hours to 8 p.m. Thursday despite Australia’s most populous city Sydney remaining in lockdown. Authorities are concerned almost half of the new cases were in the community while infectious, which will likely lead to an increase in cases tomorrow, state premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. Berejiklian indicated she won’t hesitate to tighten restrictions to curb the outbreak.
Thailand Reports Record New Infections (9:34 a.m. HK)
Thailand, which is battling the deadliest phase of the Covid-19 outbreak yet, reported 9,692 new cases on Friday, a record one-day tally since the pandemic began, official data showed. That’s a 13-fold jump in infections since early April, when it was swept by a third wave and emergence of the delta variant. The country also reported 67 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative death toll to 3,099.
Singapore Says 43% Are Fully Vaccinated (9:55 a.m. HK)
Singapore is seeing vaccine take-up rates of more than 80% across almost every age group, Singapore Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post late Thursday, referring to people who’ve had at least one dose of the vaccine as well as those who’ve booked their jabs.
More than 71% have received at least one dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s vaccine, among the highest rates in the world for countries above 5 million people, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. Yet the rate of those with both jabs is just 43%, with many under age 45 still in that couple weeks’ holding period after their first dose and awaiting the second. Those 70 and older have the lowest sign-up rate of any group eligible at about 71%. Ong said the country is pushing doctors to help call elderly clients to persuade them to vaccinate.
Singapore reported 42 new cases in the community Thursday, adding to the 56 the previous day.
Canada May Allow Fully Vaccinated Travelers (10:33 a.m. HK)
Canada will be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September if “the current positive path of vaccination rate and public health conditions continue,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Japan Eyes Relaxed Curbs for Fully Vaccinated (7:38 a.m. HK)
Japan’s government is looking at ways to relax restrictions at restaurants or events for people who have been fully vaccinated or pass antigen tests, Nikkei reports, citing Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. It quotes a senior government official as saying that while such a move could not be implemented immediately, it could be put in place once a proper framework is established. Japan’s largest business lobby Keidanren has been calling on the government to use proof of vaccination, originally intended for those traveling overseas to be used domestically to allow relaxed restrictions.
Abu Dhabi Tightens Restrictions Before Holiday (7:30 a.m. HK)
Abu Dhabi will restrict movement from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. starting Monday ahead of the Eid Al-Adha holidays, when crowds and gatherings are typically expected. “The public must stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out,” the state-run WAM news agency said. It is the first time such restrictions are implemented since they were lifted in June last year. Abu Dhabi is capital to the United Arab Emirates, the country with one of the fastest Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in the world. The city will also restrict the capacity at which malls, beaches, gyms as well as other establishments can operate.
Covid Leads to Other Medical Complications (6:35 a.m. HK)
One in two people hospitalized with Covid-19 develop another health complication, a U.K. study showed, in the broadest look yet at what happens to those sick enough to need inpatient treatment.
Though complications were most common in those over the age of 50, the study found a significant risk for younger people as well. Among 19- to 29-year-olds hospitalized with Covid, 27% experienced a further injury or attack in an organ system in the body, while 37% of 30- to 39-year-olds experienced a similar complication, the researchers said in The Lancet on Thursday.
The study followed 73,197 patients admitted to U.K. hospitals between January and August of 2020 -- meaning it didn’t capture the impact of vaccines or improved treatments, or that of the virus variants that have spread around the world this year.
L.A. Reimposes Indoor Masking (6:25 a.m. HK)
Los Angeles County told its residents they must wear masks indoors -- even the vaccinated -- following a surge in Covid-19 cases and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
The county of 10 million people added more than 1,000 new cases for a seventh straight day, with the transmission rate reaching close to a “high” level after hitting a “substantial” pace in a short period of time, Muntu Davis, the county’s health officer, said in a briefing.
“We have to get these numbers down,” he said. “Masking by all makes it a lot easier for this to happen. And it adds that layer of protection for fully vaccinated people.”
U.S. Issues Advisory on Health Misinformation (3:13 p.m. NY)
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said misinformation about vaccines and health practices is harming the fight against Covid-19 and called on social-media companies to help turn the tide.
“While it often appears innocuous on social media apps, on retail sites or search engines, the truth is that misinformation takes away our freedom to make informed decisions about our health and the health of our loved ones,” Murthy said at a White House news briefing.
Social-media companies could help counter misinformation with measures such as stronger monitoring, penalties for accounts that repeatedly violate platform policies and redesigned algorithms to avoid amplifying false claims, Murthy said in a surgeon general’s advisory issued Thursday.
Ireland Sounds Warning (12:47 p.m. NY)
Ireland is heading into a “difficult couple of weeks” where Covid cases will spike and hospitalizations will increase, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned, as the country saw its most new cases in five months. There’s concern that unvaccinated people could “overwhelm our hospitals” if they take risks with the virus, Varadkar told lawmakers in Dublin. Hospitalizations rose to their highest level in five weeks, although well below the previous peak in January. Despite the rise in cases, the government has set a target to reopen indoor dining for July 26.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
