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China said an expert team from the World Health Organization will visit on January 14 to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, following a rare rebuke last week from the global health group over a delay in travel permits. Beijing’s move to prevent the spread of infections to the capital from nearby Hebei leads to a spike in food prices.
Germany called on its citizens to drastically curtail social contact after the country’s death toll rose above 40,000. France said it is not planning a new lockdown for now, but is monitoring the situation “very closely”.
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023 as it finalizes agreements with vaccine suppliers. Malaysia said it will purchase an additional 12.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, bringing the supply to 25 million. That’s enough to inoculate 39% of the population.
Main Developments:
- Global Tracker: Top 90 Million Cases; deaths exceed 1.93 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 25 million shots delivered worldwide
- Globe-Trotters promise to fly less after Covid to help the climate
- Car manufacturers lose production because viruses disrupt chip stock
- VK is accelerating the roll-out of vaccines now that hospitals are under pressure
- Subscribe to one daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for worldwide coronavirus cases and deaths data.
LA turns Dodgers Stadium into vaccination center (3:45 PM HK)
Los Angeles, the epicenter of the latest wave, will turn Dodgers Stadium from the country’s largest Covid-19 testing site into a large-scale vaccination center to inoculate as many as 12,000 people a day.
The stadium will no longer be a test site on Monday, and the transition will take place towards the end of the week.
The Greater LA area, where one in eleven is infected, has tested 5 million people, or about half the population. With an increase in the number of cases, Southern California and other parts of the state are running out of ICU capacity.
“Vaccines are the surest way to beat this virus and pave the way to recovery,” said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Bulgaria sees the fewest cases since October (3:43 PM HK)
Bulgaria reported 105 new virus cases on Monday, the lowest number since October 11.
The Balkan country imposed a partial lockdown in late November to contain the virus after reaching the highest death rate in the European Union. Last week, it reopened primary schools and authorities are considering options to further ease restrictions.
France is not planning a new lockdown for the time being (3:41 pm HK)
France continues to monitor the daily Covid-19 situation “very closely” and is taking the necessary steps to protect the health of its citizens, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said in a radio interview on Europe 1.
French “has put in a lot of effort” and has taken early steps, and while there are currently no plans for another lockdown, it is not “time to lower our watch,” Attal said.
Attal said France would meet its target of vaccinating 1 million people by the end of January.
German minister urges less social contact (3.30 pm HK)
Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn said citizens should drastically limit social contact after the nation’s death toll soared above 40,000 over the weekend.
“There is little point in closing shops, schools and public life if there are many private contacts taking place at the same time,” Spahn said in an interview with ZDF television. “I know it is difficult, but especially in the private sphere, it is very important to reduce contact in the coming weeks,” he said.
On Monday, stricter movement restrictions and private gatherings go into effect, and schools and non-essential stores remain closed. The number of infections and fatalities has roughly doubled since the end of November to nearly 2 million and nearly 41,000 respectively. Spahn said Germany’s vaccine program, criticized for being too slow, will speed up once a shot from Moderna Inc. was delivered to the 16 federal states on Tuesday.
Tokyo suffers from cases over 1000 on the 7th day (2:48 pm HK)
Tokyo found 1,219 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the local government said, marking a seventh consecutive day with more than 1,000 infections daily.
The Japanese government called on the public to stay at home during a three-day weekend that also includes Monday, but the country’s second state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures does not appear to be reducing foot traffic as effectively as it did during the first in April, Yomiuri reported. . earlier.
Indonesia extends travel ban for foreigners (2:52 pm HK)
President Joko Widodo agreed to extend the ban for foreigners to enter Indonesia by two weeks until Jan. 28, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement.
The ban would end on January 14 in response to a new strain of coronavirus.
Malaysia Secures More Vaccination Doses (1:08 PM HK)
The country will purchase an additional 12.2 million of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the health ministry said in a statement Monday.
The latest order increases availability to 25 million doses, enough to inoculate 39% of the population. Malaysia will receive its first supply of Pfizer vaccines at the end of next month.
The second wave of Pakistan reached its peak in December (12:41 pm HK)
The number of hospital admissions and deaths in Pakistan has fallen after a spike in December, Asad Umar, the planning committee minister leading the country’s viral nerve center, said in a Twitter post.
The country announced last week that it would reopen schools in stages from January 18. Pakistan has seen about 505,000 infections and 10,500 deaths from the virus. The deaths have declined for three consecutive weeks.
Algeria authorizes Russian vaccine (12:40 HK)
Algeria has granted emergency use permission for the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investments Fund said in a statement.
Philippines to vaccinate population by 2023 (12:17 p.m. HK)
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023, officials said.
Vaccine roll-out could begin as early as February, although most of the vaccinations will begin in the second half of 2021, vaccine Tsar Carlito Galvez said at a Senate hearing on Monday.
Government finalizes supply agreements with AstraZeneca Plc., Serum Institute of India, Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Moderna Inc. and Russia’s Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, he said.
Thai Premier asks agencies to cut costs (10:35 am HK)
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has asked all government agencies to cut costs and cancel or postpone unnecessary projects as the Covid-19 outbreak has limited revenues.
Try to maximize spending and consider sources of funding other than the government budget, including setting up funds and public-private partnerships, Prayuth said in a webcast briefing Monday.
South Korea sees smallest case increase in 6 weeks (8:49 AM)
According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency website, South Korea reported 451 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from 665 the day before. It was the smallest increase since the end of November.
The number of daily cases remained below 1,000 for a 7th day. The number of tests tends to decrease over the weekends.
China reports 85 local cases; 82 in Hebei (8:41 AM HK)
According to a statement by the National Health Commission, China reported 85 locally confirmed coronavirus infections, including 82 in northern Hebei province, 2 in Liaoning and 1 in Beijing.
Japan starts large-scale PCR tests (8:14 am HK)
The Japanese government will start large-scale PCR tests for the corona virus in major cities as early as March, Nikkei newspaper reported Monday.
The test will be given for free in places such as college campuses, airports and hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, the paper said without specifying where the information came from. By expanding testing, the government aims to gain a better understanding of common infections, including asymptomatic cases.
Australia to Lift Lockdown in Brisbane (7:34 AM HK)
The Australian state of Queensland will lift the three-day lockdown of its capital Brisbane from 6 p.m. local time after zero new cases of coronavirus have been recorded overnight, Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Still, some restrictions remain on the number of people allowed in shops and restaurants, and masks must be worn in public covered places such as libraries and supermarkets, she told reporters Monday.
The fourth Australia vs. The cricket test in India is likely to continue in Brisbane as scheduled on Friday, with ground capacity cut in half and spectators having to wear masks unless seated, Palaszczuk said.
Trend in virus cases in Brazil continues to rise (6:00 pm NY)
Covid-19 cases in Brazil surpassed 8.1 million with the addition of nearly 30,000 cases on Sunday, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The death toll rose by 469 to 203,100.
Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria called on Brazil’s health regulator to show a “sense of urgency” about approving a vaccine made in partnership with China’s Sinovac.
Pope’s Personal Doctor Dies From Covid-19 (3:32 PM NY)
Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, Pope Francis’s personal physician, has died, ANSA reported quoting Vatican media. He was admitted to Rome for cancer, although the cause of death was complications from Covid-19, the report said.
The Pope chose him as his personal physician in 2015. ANSA did not say whether the two had any recent contact. On Saturday, Francis said getting a vaccine was an “ethical” obligation and that he would take one this week.
– With help from Jonas O Bergman, Claire Che and Iain Rogers