H.K.-China Border Talks; Pfizer Kids Shot Gets Nod: Virus Update
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong and China are reported to be in advanced talks on reopening their shared border just as the mainland is experiencing the broadest spread of the virus since Covid’s emergence almost two years ago in Wuhan.
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Younger children across the U.S. are now eligible to receive Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention granted the final clearance. President Joe Biden declared the decision to give children aged 5- to 11-years-old the shot a turning point in the Covid fight.
New Zealand’s central bank said the transition to living with Covid-19 could lead to changes in consumer behavior that damp economic growth. Japan will reportedly consider giving long-term visas to foreign business travelers.
Ireland reported the most new cases since January. Germany is moving toward offering boosters to virtually all who want them, according to a draft decision. The Netherlands will once again be making face masks a requirement in public indoor spaces
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Singapore Curbs Won’t Stay ‘Static,’ Ministry Says (12 p.m. HK)
Singapore’s health ministry signaled again that virus curbs won’t remain as they are through the month of November if the city-state reaches reaches a key target for further easing.
The Ministry of Health was responding to a parliamentary question Tuesday on the likelihood of people being able to dine out in groups of more than five. Current restrictions limit groups to just two. That means if a couple and their young children want to go out to dinner, they are forced to split up across multiple tables.
The ministry reiterated that its key metric for easing is whether the city-state’s seven-day moving average of community cases declines week over week. Known as the weekly infection growth rate, that ratio currently sits at 1.09.
China Delta Outbreak Worsens (11:54 a.m. HK)
More provinces in China are fighting Covid-19 than at any time since the deadly pathogen first emerged in Wuhan in 2019.
The highly-infectious delta variant is hurtling across the country despite the increasingly aggressive measures that local officials have enacted in a bid to thwart it. Local infections have been found in 19 of 31 provinces in the world’s second-largest economy. China reported 93 new local cases on Wednesday, and 11 asymptomatic infections.
Three more provinces detected cases, central Chongqing and Henan and Jiangsu on the eastern coast.
Meanwhile Changzhou, in Jiangsu province, has closed schools after three Covid infections were found.
Hong Kong, China in Reopening Talks (11:45 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong is in advanced discussions with Chinese officials about reopening their shared border, local media reports, a major breakthrough on reviving travel exchanges crucial to the Asian financial hub’s economy.
Experts from both sides are expected to soon hold a second meeting with a final decision on the resumption of travel imminent, Sing Tao newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified people.
Discussions are focused on whether Hong Kong will adopt a mainland-style health code system that will classify people green, yellow or red. Only those with a green pass would be cleared to travel to the mainland, according to the newspaper.
A quota for quarantine-free travel could be initially imposed, the paper reported, adding that officials are also considering a “circuit-breaker” to immediately suspend the system in an emergency.
Separately, Hong Kong’s airport officials plan to segregate passengers on mainland China flights from other travelers to prevent cross-infection and build a case for the reopening of the border, South China Morning Post reported earlier, citing unidentified people.
Vaccinations to Help Global Conditions: Moody’s (10:21 a.m. HK)
Covid-19 vaccination progress will help steady economic activity and stabilize global credit conditions in 2022, says Moody’s, as many pandemic-related uncertainties will start receding absent the emergence in vaccine-resistant strains.
Separately, a private gauge of China’s services sector activity climbed higher in October, defying expectations of softening momentum amid Covid outbreaks in the world’s second-largest economy.
Japan Looks to Restart Issuing Business Visas (9:26 a.m. HK)
Japan is looking at restarting issuance of long-term business visas as part of a broader easing of Covid-era border controls, the Nikkei reported without citing how it obtained the information.
Meanwhile, the Yomiuri reported Wednesday that the government was looking at ways they could experiment with letting in tour groups, without citing sources.
The reports followed news late Monday that the country is looking to relax entry restrictions for visitors on short business trips, foreign students and technical trainee workers.
New Zealand Buys More Pfizer (9:12 a.m. HK)
The New Zealand government signed a purchase agreement with Pfizer Inc. for 4.7 million additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for delivery in 2022, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in statement.
The additional supply will be used for a potential booster program and if eligibility is extended to the 5- to 11-year-old age group.
There were 100 new cases of Covid in the community, the Ministry of Health said.
Colorado May Run Out of Hospital Beds (5:25 p.m. NY)
Colorado could come close to running out of hospital beds in late November or early December if infections accelerate, officials warned Tuesday.
An estimated 1,900 of the state’s roughly 2,000 beds could be occupied under a worst-case scenario, Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, said during an online news briefing. At the current pace, hospitalizations are projected to peak at 1,500.
An estimated 1-in-51 state residents are contagious, Governor Jared Polis said during the briefing, imploring people to get vaccinated. Polis said the delta variant is “like a laser-guided missile.”
Living With Covid May Drag N.Z. Economy (4:49 p.m. NY)
New Zealand’s transition to living with Covid-19 could lead to changes in consumer behavior that damp economic growth, the central bank said.
“Businesses will need to adapt, and some businesses that have stayed afloat to date may not be viable as support schemes wind down,” the Reserve Bank said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report published Wednesday in Wellington. “These changes could drag on economic activity.”
Dutch Reintroduce Mandatory Mask Rule (2:20 p.m. NY)
The Netherlands will once again be making face masks a requirement in public indoor spaces after a spike in cases saw the caretaker government reintroduce certain measures. “It won’t surprise anyone that we have a difficult message tonight,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a press conference in the Hague.
From Saturday, people in the Netherlands are expected to work from home half of the time. The coronavirus entry pass will be required in more places such as sporting events and cinemas. Weekly positive cases jumped by 39% on Tuesday and coronavirus hospital admissions rose by around 30% week-on-week.
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