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China said a team of experts from the World Health Organization will pay a visit on January 14 to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, after a rare scolding from the global health group last week for delayed travel permits. Beijing’s action to prevent the spread of infections to neighboring Hebei’s capital is causing a rising food prices.
Germany has asked its citizens to dramatically reduce social contact after the death toll in the country has exceeded 40,000. France said it is not planning a new blockade yet, but is monitoring the situation “very closely”.
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023 by finalizing agreements with vaccine suppliers. Malaysia He said he would buy an additional 12.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, bringing his supply to 25 million. This is enough to inoculate 39% of the population.
Main developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases reach 90 million; deaths exceed 1.93 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 25 million injections given worldwide
- Globe-Trotters promises to fly less behind Covid to help weather
- Automakers are losing production as virus disrupts chip supply
- UK increases vaccine launch with hospitals under pressure
- Sign up for a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg Prognosis Team on here. Click on CVID in the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
LA turns Dodgers Stadium into a vaccination center (15:45 HK)
Los Angeles, the epicenter of the last wave, will transform Dodgers Stadium from the country’s largest Covid-19 test site into a mass vaccination center to inoculate up to 12,000 people a day.
The stadium will no longer be a testing ground on Monday, with the transition taking place later in the week.
The Greater LA area, where one in 11 was infected, tested 5 million people, or about half of its population. With an increase in cases, Southern California and other parts of the state were left without ICU capacity.
“Vaccines are the safest way to defeat this virus and chart a path to recovery,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Bulgaria has had fewer cases since October (15:43 HK)
Bulgaria reported 105 new cases of the virus on Monday, the lowest since October 11.
The Balkan country imposed a partial block in late November to contain the virus, after reaching the highest death rate in the European Union. Last week, he reopened elementary schools, and officials are considering options to further reduce restrictions.
France does not plan a new blockade yet (15:41 HK)
France continues to monitor 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 in Europe 1.
French “made a lot of efforts” and took steps at the beginning, and although there are no plans for a new blockade, it is not “time to let your guard down,” said Attal.
Attal said France will meet its goal of vaccinating 1 million people by the end of January.
German minister calls for less social contact (15:30 HK)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that citizens need to drastically reduce social contact after the number of virus deaths in the country rose to over 40,000 over the weekend.
“It doesn’t make much sense to close stores, schools and public life if at the same time there are a lot of private contacts going on,” Spahn said in an interview with ZDF television. “I know it is difficult, but especially in the private sphere it is very, very important to reduce contact in the coming weeks,” he said.
Tighter restrictions on movement and private meetings take effect on Monday, and schools and non-essential stores remain closed. The number of infections and deaths has almost doubled since the end of November, rising to almost 2 million and almost 41,000, respectively. Spahn said Germany’s vaccine program, criticized for being too slow, will accelerate as soon as an injection from Moderna Inc. is delivered to 16 federal states on Tuesday.
Tokyo suffers 7th day of cases above 1,000 (14h48 HK)
Tokyo found 1,219 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the local government said, marking a seventh consecutive day of more than 1,000 daily infections.
The government of Japan asked the public to stay home for a three-day weekend that includes Monday, but the country’s second state of emergency in Tokyo and neighboring city halls appears to have failed to reduce pedestrian traffic as effectively as during the first in April, Yomiuri informed earlier.
Indonesia extends travel ban to foreigners (14h52 HK)
President Joko Widodo agreed to extend the ban on foreigners from entering Indonesia for two weeks until January 28, the Cabinet Secretariat said in a statement.
The ban was set to end on January 14 in response to a new strain of coronavirus.
Malaysia Ensures More Vaccine Doses (13:08 HK)
The country will buy an additional 12.2 million of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday.
The most recent order increases availability to 25 million doses, enough to inoculate 39% of the population. Malaysia will begin receiving its first supply of vaccines from Pfizer at the end of next month.
Pakistan’s second wave peaked in December (12:41 pm HK)
Hospital admissions and deaths in Pakistan declined after a peak in December, said Asad Umar, minister of the planning commission that leads the country’s virus nerve center, in a Twitter post.
The nation announced last week that it would reopen schools in phases starting January 18. Pakistan recorded about 505,000 infections and 10,500 deaths from the virus. Deaths have declined for three consecutive weeks.
Algeria authorizes Russian vaccine (12h40 HK)
Algeria has granted emergency use authorization for the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a statement.
Philippines will vaccinate population by 2023 (12:17 pm HK)
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of more than 100 million people by 2023, officials said.
The vaccine’s launch may begin as early as February, although most vaccines begin in the second half of 2021, vaccine secretary Carlito Galvez said at a Senate hearing on Monday.
The government is finalizing supply agreements with AstraZeneca Plc., Serum Institute of India, Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Moderna Inc. and Russia’s National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia, said he.
Thai Premier asks agencies to cut costs (10:35 HK)
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha urged all government agencies to cut costs and cancel or delay any unnecessary projects, as the Covid-19 outbreak reduced revenue.
Try to maximize spending and consider other sources of funds besides the government budget, including the creation of funds and public-private partnerships, said Prayuth in a webcast briefing on Monday.
South Korea sees the smallest increase in cases in 6 weeks (8:49 am)
South Korea reported 451 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, down from 665 the previous day, according to data from the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency website. It was the smallest increase since late November.
The number of daily cases was below 1,000 for a 7th day. The number of tests usually decreases on weekends.
China reports 85 local cases; 82 in Hebei (8:41 am HK)
China reported 85 local coronavirus infections confirmed on January 10, including 82 in Hebei province, 2 in Liaoning and 1 in Beijing, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.
Japan to begin large-scale PCR testing (8h14 HK)
The Japanese government will start large-scale coronavirus PCR tests in large cities as early as March, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
The test will be conducted free of charge at places like university campuses, airports and hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, the newspaper said without specifying where it obtained the information from. By expanding the tests, the government aims to gain a better understanding of infections in general, including asymptomatic cases, according to the newspaper.
Australia to lift blockade in Brisbane (7:34 am HK)
The Australian state of Queensland will lift the three-day blockade in its capital, Brisbane, at 6 pm local time, after no new cases of coronavirus have been reported overnight, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Still, some restrictions will remain on the number of people allowed in stores and restaurants, and the masks should be used in closed public places like libraries and supermarkets, she told reporters on Monday.
The fourth australia vs. The cricket test in India is likely to be held in Brisbane, as planned on Friday, with field capacity cut in half and spectators forced to wear masks unless they are seated, Palaszczuk said.
The trend of virus cases in Brazil increases even more (18h, NY)
Covid-19 cases in Brazil exceeded 8.1 million, with an increase of almost 30,000 cases on Sunday, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The death toll increased from 469 to 203,100.
The governor of the State of São Paulo, João Doria, asked the Brazilian health regulator to show “a sense of urgency” in approving a vaccine made in partnership with China’s Sinovac.
The Pope’s personal doctor dies from Covid-19 (15:32 in NY)
Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, Pope Francis’ personal doctor, died, ANSA said, citing Vatican media. He was hospitalized in Rome for cancer, although the cause of death was complications from Covid-19, the report said.
The pope chose him as his personal doctor in 2015. ANSA did not say whether the two had recent contact. On Saturday, Francis said that getting the vaccine was an “ethical” obligation and that he would get it later this week.
– With the help of Jonas O Bergman, Claire Che and Iain Rogers