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China said an expert team from the World Health Organization visited on 14 January to investigate the origin of the coronavirus, following a rare rebuke from the global health group last week over a delay in travel permits. Beijing’s effort to prevent the spread of infections to the capital of nearby Hebei is causing a rise in food prices.
Germany has urged its citizens to drastically reduce social contact after the country’s death toll rose above 40,000. France said it was not currently planning a new exclusion, but that it was monitoring the situation very closely.
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023, as it deals with vaccine providers. Malaysia said they would buy an additional dose of 12.2 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which would take the supply up to 25 million. It is enough to vaccinate 39% of the population.
Important developments:
- Global Tracker: business is 90 million; deaths exceed 1.93 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 25 million shots are given worldwide
- Globe-Trotters promise to fly less to Covid to boost climate
- Car manufacturers lose production because virus supply disrupts chips
- UK increases vaccine deployment with hospitals under stress
- Sign in to a daily update of the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis Team here. Click CVID on the Global Coronavirus Cases and Deaths Terminal for global data.
LA turns Dodgers Stadium into vaccination center (15:45 HK)
Los Angeles, the centerpiece of the latest wave, will turn Dodgers Stadium into the nation’s largest Covid-19 test site into a mass vaccination center to vaccinate as many as 12,000 people a day.
The stadium will cease to be a test venue on Monday, and the transition will take place by the end of the week.
The Greater LA area, where one in 11 is infected, has tested 5 million people or about half the population. With an increase in cases, Southern California and other parts of the state have run out of ICU capacity.
“Vaccinations are the surest way to defeat this virus and give a rate for recovery,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Bulgaria sees the fewest cases since October (15:43 HK)
Bulgaria reported 105 new virus cases on Monday, the lowest number since October 11.
The Balkan country imposed a partial exclusion at the end of November to limit 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 does not plan a new exclusion now (15:41 HK)
France is monitoring the daily situation of Covid-19 “very closely” and is taking the necessary measures to protect the health of its citizens, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said in a radio interview on Europe 1.
French has ‘put a lot of effort’ and taken steps early on, and although there are no current plans for a new exclusion, it is not ‘time to let our guard down’, Attal said.
Attal said France would reach its goal of vaccinating 1 million people by the end of January.
German minister urges less social contact (15:30 HK)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said citizens should drastically curtail social contact after the death toll from viruses rose above 40,000 over the weekend.
“It does not make much sense to close shops, schools and public life if there are many private contacts at the same time,” Spahn said in an interview with ZDF television. “I know it’s hard, but especially in the private sphere, it’s very, very important to reduce contact in the next few weeks,” he said.
Stricter restrictions on movement and private gatherings take effect Monday, and schools and non-essential stores remain closed. The number of infections and deaths has nearly doubled since the end of November, rising to nearly 2 million and nearly 41,000, respectively. Delivered Tuesday to the 16 federal states.
Tokyo suffers from 7th day of business above 1,000 (14:48 HK)
Tokyo on Monday found 1,219 new cases of coronavirus, the local government said it was a seventh consecutive day with more than 1,000 daily infections.
The Japanese government has called on the public to stay home for a three-day weekend that includes Monday, but the country’s second state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures has apparently failed to make foot traffic so effective. reduced as during the first in April, reports Yomiuri. earlier.
Indonesia extends travel ban for foreigners (14:52 HK)
President Joko Widodo has agreed to extend the ban on foreigners entering Indonesia for two months until January 28, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement.
The ban would end on January 14 in response to new coronavirus strain.
Malaysia secures more vaccines (13:08 HK)
The country will buy another 12.2 million of the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday.
The latest order increases the availability to 25 million doses, enough to vaccinate 39% of the population. Malaysia will launch its first stock of Pfizer vaccines at the end of next month.
Pakistan’s second wave peaked in December (12:41 HK)
Admissions and deaths at Pakistan’s hospital have declined after peaking in December, Planning Commissioner Asad Umar, who is the leader of the country’s nerve center for viruses, said in a Twitter report.
The country announced last week will reopen schools from January 18. Pakistan has seen about 505,000 infections and 10,500 deaths due to the virus. Deaths decreased for three consecutive weeks.
Algeria authorizes Russian vaccine (12:40 HK)
Algeria has granted emergency use of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investments Fund said in a statement.
Philippines to vaccinate population by 2023 (12:17 pm HK)
Officials said the Philippines should vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023.
Vaccination of vaccines could begin as early as February, although most vaccinations will begin in the second half of 2021, Vaccine Tsar Carlito Galvezsaid said Monday during a Senate hearing.
The government is in the process of finalizing offering deals with AstraZeneca Plc., Serum Institute of India, Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Moderna Inc. and the Russian Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, he said.
Thai Prime Minister asks agencies to cut costs (10:35 HK)
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has called on all government agencies to cut costs and cancel or postpone unnecessary projects as the Covid-19 outbreak has limited revenue.
Try to maximize spending and consider other sources of funding besides the government budget, including raising funds and a public-private partnership, Prayuth said Monday in an information session on the webcast.
South Korea sees smallest case rise in 6 weeks (08:49)
South Korea has reported 451 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from 665 the previous day, according to data from the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website. This was the smallest increase since the end of November.
The number of daily cases remained below 1,000 on a 7th day. The number of tests usually decreases over weekends.
China reports 85 local affairs; 82 in Hebei (08:41 HK)
China reported 85 local confirmed coronavirus infections on January 10, including 82 in the northern province of Hebei, 2 in Liaoning and 1 in Beijing, according to a statement from the National Health Commission.
Japan launches large-scale PCR testing (08:14 HK)
The Japanese government will begin large-scale PCR testing for the coronavirus in major cities as early as March, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
The test is taken free of charge at places such as college campuses, airports and hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, the newspaper said without specifying where the information was obtained. By extending the testing, the government says the government wants a better understanding of overall infections, including asymptomatic cases.
Australia to lift lockdown in Brisbane (07:34 HK)
The Australian state of Queensland will lift the three-day exclusion on its capital Brisbane from 18:00 local time after zero new cases of coronavirus were recorded overnight, Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Still, there will be restrictions on the amount of people allowed in shops and restaurants, and masks will have to be worn in public indoor venues such as libraries and supermarkets, she told reporters on Monday.
The fourth Australia against. Indian cricket test is likely to continue to halve the capacity of the ground in Brisbane on Friday and spectators will have to wear masks unless they are sitting, Palaszczuk said.
Trends in virus cases in Brazil continue to rise (18:00 NY)
According to data from the Ministry of Health, Covid-19 cases in Brazil exceeded 8.1 million with the addition of nearly 30,000 cases on Sunday. The death toll increased by 469 to 203,100.
The governor of the state of Sao Paulo, Joao Doria, called on the Brazilian health regulator to show a “sense of urgency” over the approval of a vaccine made in partnership with the Chinese Sinovac.
Pope’s Personal Doctor Dies from Covid-19 (15:32 NY)
ANSA reports the Vatican media said Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, Pope Francis’ personal doctor, had died. He was hospitalized in Rome for cancer, although the cause of death was complications of Covid-19, the report said.
The pope chose him in 2015 as his personal physician. ANSA did not say whether the two had been in contact recently. Francis said on Saturday that it is an ‘ethical’ obligation to take a vaccine and that he will only take it this week.
– With help from Jonas O Bergman, Claire Che and Iain Rogers