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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. Beijing’s measure to prevent the spread of infections in the nearby capital Hebei triggers a rising food prices.
Germany has called on its citizens to drastically reduce social contact after the national death toll rose to more than 40,000. France said it was not planning a new blockade at the moment, but was monitoring the situation “very closely”.
The Philippines aims to vaccinate its entire population of over 100 million people by 2023 as it completes transactions with vaccine providers. Malaysia said it would buy an additional 12.2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, bringing the supply by 25 million. It is enough to inoculate 39% of the population.
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.
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.
“Vaccines are the safest way to defeat this virus and establish a path to recovery,” said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
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.
Pakistan’s second wave peaked in December (12:41 pm HK)
Admissions and deaths at the Pakistani hospital fell after they peaked in December, said Asad Umar, the minister of the planning commission that runs the nation’s nerve center, in a post on Twitter.
The nation announced last week will reopen schools in stages on January 18. Pakistan has recorded about 505,000 infections and 10,500 deaths from the virus. Deaths fell for three consecutive weeks.
Algeria clears Russian vaccine (12:40 pm HK)
Algeria has granted emergency use of the Russian vaccine against Sputnik V coronavirus, the Russian Fund for Direct Investment said in a statement.
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.
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 the Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia, he said.
Thai Prime Minister calls on agencies to cut costs (10:35 am HK)
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has called on all government agencies to cut costs and cancel or delay any unnecessary projects, as the Covid-19 outbreak has reduced revenues.
Try to maximize spending and consider other sources of funding besides the government budget, including fundraising and public-private partnerships, Prayuth said in an online briefing 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.
China reports 85 local cases; 82 in Hebei (8:41 am HK)
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, according to a statement from the National Health Commission.
Japan to begin large-scale PCR testing (8:14 am HK)
The Japanese government will begin large-scale PCR testing for coronavirus in major cities as early as March, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
The test will be offered free of charge in places such as university campuses, airports and hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, the newspaper said, without specifying where it obtained the information. By extending the tests, the government aims to better understand general infections, 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 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.
Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria has called on Brazil’s health regulator to show a “sense of urgency” over the approval of a vaccine developed in partnership with Sinovac in China.
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