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China said a team of experts from the World Health Organization will visit on January 14 to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, following a rare reprimand from the global health group last week over a delay in travel permits.
A new group has erupted in the northeastern city of Suihua in northeastern Heilongjiang province, as a move to prevent the spread of infections in the nearby capital Hebei triggers a rising food prices.
Three London transit workers have died in recent days, a union said, demanding more security guarantees. Germany has called on its citizens to drastically reduce social contact after the national death toll rose to more than 40,000.
Hospitals in Ireland are under increasing pressure as they face a daily infection rate, which is now among the highest in the world, with ambulances forming a backlog outside a facility over the weekend.
Key developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases are in the top 90 million; deaths exceed 1.93 million
- Vaccine Tracker: over 25 million photos worldwide
- Globe-Trotters promises to fly less after Covid to help the climate
- Automakers are losing production as the virus disrupts chip supply
- The UK is increasing the launch of vaccines with subject hospitals
- Subscribe to a daily virus update from Bloomberg’s Prognosis Team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
London Transit Deaths (5:31 pm HK)
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is looking for stronger security measures to protect London Transport staff from the pandemic after three workers died in transit in recent days. The union called on the mayor of London and the London Underground to provide guarantees for the safety of workers, including allowing vulnerable employees to stay home if necessary. N95-style masks should be available upon request, the union wrote.
China’s new cluster (17:15 HK)
A new group has erupted in the city of Suihua in China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The city of more than 5 million people reported 20 asymptomatic infections after authorities tested more than 2,800 people. Health officials expect results for the remaining approximately 8,700 people who were tested after a woman tested positive at a county hospital on Saturday, Chinese News Services reported.
The detection of the new group took place when outbreaks in the city of Shijiazhuang, near the Chinese capital, increased by more than 450 cases in less than 10 days and with sporadic outbreaks in the northeastern provinces of the country.
China reported 85 confirmed local coronavirus infections on January 10, including 82 in the northern province of Hebei, 2 in Liaoning and 1 in Beijing.
Pressures in the Irish hospital (17:05)
The hospital system in Ireland has come close to being overwhelmed as the number of coronavirus cases continues to explode. Doctors treated patients in ambulances outside a facility in the northwest of the country over the weekend, while patients suspected of the virus filled the hospital, while the availability of intensive care beds fell to 38.
Ireland’s 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people is now among the highest in the world.
Vaccination of Israel (16:40 HK)
Israel is expanding its vaccination efforts following the arrival of a new transport of vaccines on Sunday. From Tuesday, the minimum age for vaccination will be reduced from 60 to 55 years.
The country also began administering the second dose to those who received the first dose three weeks earlier. Israel administered about 1.87 million doses, or about 21 per 100 people, the highest percentage in the world, according to our World in Data website.
New strains widespread in Europe (16:30 HK)
Finland reported a total of 49 cases of coronavirus variants in the UK and South Africa on Monday, with most of these infections detected in travelers and their close contact in recent weeks. In Latvia, a case of the British version was discovered, related to a recent trip to the country.
LA turns Dodgers Stadium into a 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 test site into a mass vaccination center to inoculate up to 12,000 people a day.
The stadium will cease to be a test site on Monday, with the transition taking place by the end of the week.
The Greater LA area, where one in 11 were infected, tested 5 million people, or about half of its population. As the number of cases increased, Southern California and other parts of the state were left without intensive care capacity.
Bulgaria sees the fewest cases since October (3:43 pm HK)
Bulgaria reported 105 new cases of the virus on Monday, the lowest number since October 11.
The Balkan country imposed a partial blockade at the end of November to contain the virus after reaching the highest mortality rate in the European Union. Last week, it reopened elementary schools, and authorities are considering options to further ease restrictions.
France do not plan a new blockade at the moment (3:41 pm HK)
France continues to monitor the day-to-day situation of Covid-19 “very closely” and takes the necessary measures to protect the health of its citizens, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said in a radio interview in Europe 1.
The French have “made a lot of effort” and taken steps ahead of time, and although there are no current plans for a new blockade, it is not “time to be vigilant,” Attal said.
Attal said France would meet its goal of vaccinating 1 million people by the end of January.
German minister calls for less social contacts (15:30 HK)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said citizens must drastically reduce social contact after the nation’s death toll rose to more than 40,000 over the weekend.
“It doesn’t 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 coming weeks,” he said.
Stricter restrictions on traffic and private gatherings come into force on Monday, and non-essential schools and shops remain closed. The number of infections and deaths has doubled since the end of November, reaching almost 2 million and almost 41,000. Spahn said Germany’s vaccination program, criticized for being too slow, would accelerate once a blow from Moderna Inc. will be delivered Tuesday to 16 federal states.
Tokyo suffers 7th day of over 1,000 cases (14:48 HK)
Tokyo found 1,219 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the local government said, marking the seventh day in a row with more than 1,000 infections a day.
The Japanese government has asked the public to stay home for a three-day weekend that includes Monday, but the nation’s second state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures appears to have failed to reduce foot traffic as effectively as the first. since April, Yomiuri reported earlier.
Indonesia extends travel ban to foreigners (14:52 HK)
President Joko Widodo has agreed to extend the ban on foreigners entering Indonesia for two weeks until January 28, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement.
The ban was due to end on January 14 in response to a new strain of coronavirus.
Malaysia provides multiple doses of vaccine (1:08 pm HK)
The country will buy another 12.2 million from the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Monday.
The latest order increases availability to 25 million doses, enough to inoculate 39% of the population. Malaysia will start receiving its first supply of Pfizer vaccines at the end of next month.
Philippines will vaccinate population by 2023 (12:17 pm HK)
The Philippines aims to vaccinate the entire population of over 100 million people by 2023, officials said.
The launch of vaccines may begin as early as February, although most vaccinations will begin in the second half of 2021, vaccine tsar Carlito Galvez said at a Senate sitting on Monday.
South Korea sees the lowest increase in cases in 6 weeks (8:49)
South Korea reported 451 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, compared to 665 the day before, according to data from the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency website. It was the smallest increase since the end of November.
The number of daily cases remained below 1,000 for the 7th day. The number of tests usually decreases over the weekend.
Australia to lift blockade in Brisbane (7:34 am HK)
The Australian state of Queensland will lift the three-day blockade of its capital Brisbane from 18:00 local time after zero new cases of coronavirus were recorded overnight, Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
However, some restrictions will remain on the number of people allowed in shops and restaurants, and masks must be worn in public places indoors, such as libraries and supermarkets, she told reporters on Monday.
The fourth Australia vs.. The Indian cricket test is likely to continue in Brisbane, as planned on Friday, with the ground capacity halved and spectators to wear masks if they are not seated, Palaszczuk said.
The trend of the virus case in Brazil continues to increase (18:00 NY)
Covid-19 cases in Brazil exceeded 8.1 million, adding nearly 30,000 cases on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health. The death toll rose from 469 to 203,100.
Pope’s personal doctor dies in Covid-19 (3:32 pm NY)
Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, Pope Francis’ personal physician, has died, ANSA reported, 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 a personal physician in 2015. ANSA did not say whether the two had recent contact. On Saturday, Francis said getting a vaccine is an “ethical” obligation and he will get one immediately after this week.
– With the assistance of Jonas O Bergman, Claire Che and Iain Rogers