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Coronavirus infections worldwide have risen to more than 85 million, after daily cases in the US rose to a record nearly 300,000 after the New Year’s holiday.
The UK is ready to deliver the first photos of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, in a race against a faster-spread variant that caused the blockade across the country. Anthony Fauci said the launch of the vaccine in the US is raising the speed after a slow start.
The Prime Minister of Japan is considering another state of emergency for the Tokyo area, with cases highlighted and the launch of a vaccine more than a month away. Thailand imposed fresh edges against the background of record infections. Chinese Foreign Minister said outbreaks could have caused the pandemic as the examination grows on the origins of the pathogen.
Key developments:
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Serious cases in Tokyo have been reported; Suga Mulls Emergency (14:57 HK)
Severe cases of Covid-19 in Tokyo rose to a record 108, surpassing a previous high of 105 in April during the initial wave of infections in Japan. The Japanese capital added 884 cases of coronavirus on Monday, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called the situation “extremely severe”.
Yoshihide Suga on January 4th.
Photographer: Yoshikazu Tsuno / Gamma-Rapho / Bloomberg
Suga told a news conference that he is considering a the state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding areas. He urged people to avoid unnecessary exits and said a strengthened law on virus management would be presented to parliament when it meets this month.
Bulgaria receives more Pfizer vaccines (14:54 HK)
Bulgaria has received a second delivery of about 25,000 Pfizer vaccines, which will be distributed among doctors. The Balkan country started vaccination with other EU countries on December 27 and has so far vaccinated about 4,700 doctors. Vaccination of teachers and people in kindergartens will begin in about two weeks, said Health Minister Kostadin Angelov.
Bulgaria registered 171 positive cases on Monday, the lowest result in two weeks, with 34 deaths, after entering a partial deadlock on November 23 to try to contain one of the highest mortality rates in the EU. “We managed to break the contamination curve,” Angelov said.
AstraZeneca vaccine approval files in Korea (2:17 pm HK)
The Korean unit of AstraZeneca has filed an application for approval of its coronavirus vaccine in South Korea, according to an e-mail statement from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
South Korea’s drug regulator aims to complete a 40-day review of the vaccine. Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun said earlier that the nation would begin vaccinations in February. South Korea has signed an agreement to buy 20 million doses from AstraZeneca.
Metro Manila Mayors All Vaccines (14:15 HK)
Several mayors in the Philippine capital region have vowed to bid free coronavirus vaccines to their constituents. The city of Makati, the nation’s main financial district, has allocated 1 billion pesos ($ 21 million) to buy vaccines that will be made available to all its inhabitants. The cities of Manila and Paranaque have announced budgets for vaccines of 250 million pesos and 1 billion pesos, respectively.
Thailand reports multiple registered cases (12:56 pm HK)
Thailand reported 745 new cases of coronavirus on Monday as rising infections prompted authorities to impose Fresh borders in some of the most populous regions, including the capital Bangkok.
The latest number, which included 729 local broadcasts, brought the nation’s total number of cases to 8,439, according to the Covid-19 Situation Management Center. More than 4,000 of these infections have been reported since mid-December, when the new group of viruses was first detected among migrant workers, official figures show.
A government official takes the temperature of the bus passengers’ bodies at a Covid-19 checkpoint in Bangkok on January 3.
Photographer: Sirachai Arunrugstichai / Getty Images
HK may delay resumption of classes: RTHK (12:54 pm HK)
Hong Kong is leaning towards extending the in-person class suspension to primary and secondary schools after January 10, Hong Kong Radio Television reported, citing unidentified individuals. The report did not mention a time frame for a possible extension.
Vietnam to buy 30 million doses of AstraZeneca (11:55 am HK)
Vietnam has signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to purchase about 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong said during a government briefing posted on the government’s Facebook page. Vietnam has also negotiated the purchase of vaccines with companies in the United States, Russia and China, Cuong said.
Chinese diplomat links global outbreaks to pandemic (11:37 am HK)
Photographer: Issei Kato / Pool / AFP / Getty Images
China’s foreign minister says outbreaks could have caused the Covid-19 pandemic, while Beijing is stepping up efforts to reform the virus’s narrative amid increased control over the Covid-19 pandemic. the origins of the pathogen.
“Increasing research suggests that the pandemic was likely caused by separate outbreaks in several parts of the world,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in comments released over the weekend in an interview with the official Xinhua news agency. the state CCTV broadcaster.
Thailand to receive two million doses of Sinovac photos (11:27 am HK)
Thailand will receive the first batch of vaccines from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. next month, allowing the country in the midst of a resurgence of cases to begin inoculating people at highest risk.
The Southeast Asian nation will receive the Chinese vaccine in three batches, with the first 200,000 doses arriving in February, 800,000 in March and another million in April, according to the Ministry of Health. Thailand has also started local production of vaccines developed by AstraZeneca under a technology transfer agreement, which is expected to be ready for distribution in May, the ministry said.
Concern grows over Sydney supermarket cluster (9:15 AM HK)
Australian authorities are concerned about a growing group of cases involving a liquor store and a supermarket in western Sydney and are urging people with the slightest symptom to show up and be tested.
Two new local cases were detected overnight in the suburb of Berala, where potentially thousands of people who visited the shops in the last two weeks were urged to isolate themselves until they give negative results. Clothing in Sydney, a city of 5 million people, is now mandatory in most inland areas as authorities try to contain other clusters in the city.
The Sydney cases are a blow to Australia, which largely involved community outreach and led other states and territories to restrict entry to Sydneysiders or residents of New South Wales.
South Korean cases rise again over 1,000 (8:45 am HK)
South Korea has reported 1,020 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, rising again to more than 1,000 after infection levels fell in the past two days. Over the weekend, South Korea extended its current rules on social distance by two weeks, as authorities continue to restrict private meetings before national vaccination is expected next month.
New York positive test rate over 9% (14:40 NY)
People line up in front of a Covid-19 test site in Brooklyn on January 2nd.
Photographer: Kena Betancur / AFP / Getty Images
New York’s seven-day positive test average exceeded 9% for the third day in a row, a level that compares to less than 2% in November. New hospitalizations rose to 213, and new cases rose to 3,885, based on an average of seven days, Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter.
California Hospitals Add to Health Care Pregnancy (14:15 NY)
Hospitalizations in California have remained at one of the highest levels, as an increase in post-Christmas infections has further strained the health care system.
The state added 45,352 new cases, bringing the total to nearly 2.4 million. Another 181 new deaths were reported, for a total of 26,538. Intensive care capacity is at zero in Southern California as hospitals strain to add space to accommodate an increased patient load.
The test positivity rate of 12.3% is also at one of the highest levels at the initial peak of the outbreak. Hospitalizations increased by 307 to 21,510. California has a residence order for most of the state.
The new strain will spread rapidly in the US, says Gottlieb (1:45 pm NY)
The incidence of the new, more infectious strain of coronavirus will rise sharply in the United States in the next few months, said former Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottlieb.
“There are some estimates that the new variant is probably about 1% of all infections in this country. By March, there will be most infections. It’s going to grow fast, “Gottlieb told CBS’s” Face the Nation “on Sunday. The new version was found in at least three states after appearing in the UK.
Modern vaccine dose can be cut in half (1:37 pm NY)
Officials from Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government’s vaccination boost, are calling for Moderna Inc. and the US Food and Drug Administration to halve the company’s dose of Covid-19 vaccination for people between the ages of 18 and 55, after finding that it induces the same thing. immune response, chief scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui.
This would double the amount of vaccine available to the age group, while providing the same level of protection, he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
A resident at King’s Point Nursing Home receives the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on December 30, 2020.
Photographer: Saul Martinez / Bloomberg
Fauci says vaccine rate rises after slow start (10:48 am NY)
The top US government doctor for infectious diseases said the launch of Covid-19 vaccines is increase the speed and could be on the right track in a week or so. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that in the last 72 hours, about 1.5 million doses of vaccine have been given, or about 500,000 a day, at a substantial rate.
“With the assistance of Jeff Sutherland.”