The delayed Tokyo Olympics will take place without foreign spectators, the organizing committee said, risking millions of dollars in lost ticket revenue. The UK vaccinated half of all adults, the country’s health secretary tweeted.
AstraZeneca Plc said it will supply 230 million vaccines through Covax in the coming months. Pfizer Inc. has warned the European Union that any threat of a ban on vaccine exports could drive production off course if the UK retaliates by retaining key ingredients for its Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Paris has entered a third block, Poland has closed shopping centers and Germany has approached a limit that could trigger further restrictions. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan tested positive and isolated himself, the country’s health minister said.
Main developments:
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AstraZeneca reveals supply plans (7h52, NY)
The UK-based pharmaceutical will supply 230 million doses of its vaccine to 142 countries in the coming months, said President Leif Johannson in Beijing. The announcement came as a result of setbacks in Europe after Germany and other nations stopped administering the vaccine amid concerns that it was linked to blood clots. The drama ended, however, with countries restoring doses after the regulator touted its benefits.
UK vaccination on track (7:18 am, NY)
More than half of UK adults have already received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, putting the country on track to offer a first dose of the vaccine by the end of July. In comparison, less than one in 10 adults in the European Union has been inoculated.
Still, the UK’s progress is under threat, as resistant variants of the virus can undermine the vaccine’s effectiveness and so-called nationalism of the vaccine can stifle the UK’s steady supply.
Tokyo Olympic Games avoid foreign viewers (7h08, NY)
The largest international sporting event in the world will take place without foreign spectators and tickets purchased by them will be refunded. A decision on limiting domestic fans will be made in April, said Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto.
Before the games were postponed last year, around 600,000 foreign visitors were expected, in addition to more than 11,000 athletes.
Pfizer warns of interruptions (17:52 HK)
The drugmaker spoke to the EU as tensions over the supply of vaccines between the UK and the bloc increase. The manufacture of lipids – fatty material used to supply the genetic material at the heart of the vaccine from Pfizer and the German partner BioNTech SE – takes place in a secret location in the United Kingdom and is sent to the EU, where the injections are completed.
“We have been clear with all stakeholders that the free movement of goods and supplies across borders is absolutely critical for Pfizer and the patients we serve,” said a Pfizer spokesman in an e-mailed statement. The Telegraph first reported on the discussions on Friday.
Positive tests by the Prime Minister of Pakistan (17:46 HK)
Imran Khan is the latest head of government to contract the virus after Boris Johnson of the UK, Emmanuel Macron of France, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and former President of the United States Donald Trump. Khan isolates himself at home, Health Minister Faisal Sultan said in a tweet.
Acceleration of European cases (17:30 HK)
Poland recorded 26,405 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, the second biggest daily increase this year, prompting the country to close shopping centers. In Sweden, even if AstraZeneca vaccinations are resumed, the chances are slim that all adults will be fully vaccinated with two doses by June 30, said the vaccine coordinator, Richard Bergstrom, in an interview with the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Two health professionals in Denmark were AdmitHe had symptoms of blood clots two weeks after the injection of AstraZeneca and one died, reported the newspaper Ekstra Bladet. In the Czech Republic, there were signs that the pandemic is decreasing, with fewer working days in more than a month for new infections.
Elevator emergency in Senegal (17:25 HK)
Senegal has lifted the state of emergency, ending the night curfew in the Dakar and Thies regions in an attempt to boost an economy hard hit by movement restrictions during the first wave of the virus. The decision was made when Senegal reached the limit of 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
German rate close to the restriction limit (4:46 pm HK)
Germany’s seven-day incidence rate rose to 99.9 per 100,000 people on Saturday, the highest in nearly two months, according to the country’s RKI health institute, and close to the threshold at which Chancellor Angela Merkel and officials regional authorities agreed to reimpose the restrictions.
On Monday, Merkel and state leaders will discuss whether restrictions should be extended to April or even tightened, rather than eased as suggested by the government earlier this month, as the country faces a resurgence of the virus that is affecting all of Europe. . Merkel said on Friday that Germany Accelerate its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in April, after regulators gave authorization for the injection of AstraZeneca.
Daily record of cases in the Philippines (4:14 pm HK)
The Philippines, home to the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia, reported a record 7,999 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the total to more than 656,000. The government asked that state offices not involved in essential services reduce operations from March 22 to April 4.
He previously ordered restaurants in areas including Manila to operate at half capacity by April 4. It also limited conferences and religious meetings, and closed museums and other tourist attractions.
Hungarian daily cases, deaths reach record high (4:12 pm HK)
Hungary reported a record 227 daily deaths from Covid-19 as the country struggles to reduce infections, despite having the second highest vaccination rate in the European Union. New cases increased by 11,132 unprecedented cases.
The government announced on Friday the extension of the blockade – which would have expired on Monday and forced most stores to close – for at least another week.
Sri Lanka approves vaccine against Sinopharm (15:21 HK)
Sri Lanka approved the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, Xinhua reported, citing a government minister. It is the third vaccine to be approved in the country, after the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines.
Australia and New Zealand discuss corridor (8h05 HK)
Australia and New Zealand could allow round trip between them without requiring quarantine within weeks, reported the Australian Financial Review, citing Australia’s tourism and trade minister Dan Tehan.
Chicago hospital reported to administer off-site vaccines (7:57 am HK)
Loretto Hospital, a safety net institution in the Austin neighborhood on the west side of Chicago, is experiencing heat from supposedly administer off-site vaccines, including at Trump Tower, according to local media reports.
The hospital board, which includes elected officials, says the events “resulted from a sincere desire to vaccinate as many Chicago citizens as possible – especially people of color”. But he added that the actions “are outside the scope of the Loretto Hospital’s central mission,” and two executives were reprimanded, according to a statement on Friday.
The city “will not tolerate providers that openly violate the Chicago Department of Public Health’s distribution guidelines,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement on Thursday.
Paris enters confinement (7:24 am HK)
A third blockade affecting several French regions, including the Paris area, took effect at midnight on Friday. Only key businesses and schools will remain open, with restrictions expected to remain in effect for four weeks. Like the rest of the country, the French capital has been under a night curfew since mid-January, with cafes, restaurants, bars and theaters closed. Even so, the infection rate has increased and hospitals are under increasing pressure.
More open strokes in the United States for everyone (6:40 am HK)
At least three more states said they would open vaccine eligibility for people aged 16 and older before President Joe Biden’s May 1 deadline. More than a dozen other states said they would start vaccinating all adults then.
North Dakota said it would expand eligibility until March 29. Maine and Vermont said they would do it on April 19.
Outbreak reported to hit Mar-a-Lago (6h11 HK)
Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach club, is partially closed due to a Covid-19 outbreak, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, including a member of the club that was notified by phone.
Some workers were quarantined and a section was closed for a short period, according to one person, who refused to be named in the AP report.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for independent confirmation of the report, nor did Mar-a-Lago managing director Bernd Lembcke. A woman who answered the phone at the club declined to comment and declined to give her name.
Baylor College of Medicine Dean Peter Hotez explains the dangers associated with what he calls “abysmal” handling of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine by European nations. He also comments on the virus variants and the challenge of inoculating the developing world during an interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance”.
– With the help of Ian Fisher, Stephen Treloar, Ian Wishart, Suzi Ring, Marthe Fourcade, Lars Erik Taraldsen, Anton Wilen, Jeanette Rodrigues, Alex Vasquez, Rachel Gamarski, Jonathan Levin, Gaspard Sebag, Shruti Singh, Siegfrid Alleged, Zoltan Simon , Mariajose Vera, Ania Nussbaum, Wojciech Moskwa, Love Liman, Katarina Hoije and Krystof Chamonikolas
(An earlier version of this story corrected for virus records in Brazil.)