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Britain’s foreign secretary Dominic Raab said it is considering all possible measures to combat the potential spread of new variants of coronavirus and refused to exclude quarantine hotels for international arrivals. The nation recorded 1,200 deaths for the fifth day in a row on Saturday.
The organizers of the Australian Open have said that the tennis tournament will continue, despite 47 players who were forced to isolate themselves in a 14-day quarantine, with a fourth coronavirus infection confirmed by a passenger on charter flights used by competitors.
Israel will begin the gradual reopening of its economy in February, Finance Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. Norway raised the estimate of the number of elderly people with serious health conditions who died after inoculation at 29.
Cases confirmed by Covid-19 in the greater Los Angeles area have been overcome 1 million, while California representative Lou Correa tested positive for Covid-19.
Key developments:
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Raab says UK considers all border measures to reduce virus (5:24 pm HK)
The Government of the United Kingdom is considering all possible measures to combat the potential spread of new coronavirus variants, said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Raab said border controls would be strengthened and would refuse to rule out quarantine hotels for those arriving in the UK.
Separately, Telegraph reported that the government aims to vaccinate four to five million people a week in a few months, with Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines helping it vaccinate all 54 million adults by the end of June.
The UK reported more than 1,200 deaths for the fifth day in a row on Saturday. The new cases of 41,346 were below the weekly average of 51,221. More than 37,000 people were in hospitals and 3.56 million people received the first dose of vaccine.
Club Med owner pleads for reopening of ski lifts (17:15 HK)
The head of the resort of Club Med is pleading with the French government to allow the reopening of the ski lifts in the Alps, saying that 100,000 seasonal jobs are at stake and bankruptcies are rising.
Henri Giscard d’Estaing wrote to Prime Minister Jean Castex urging him to weigh the economic consequences for the region if they remain closed, the Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday.
The government is due to decide on January 20 before the first wave of school holidays starting on February 6. Stricter extinguishing conditions came into force on Saturday, amid a resurgence of the virus.
Israel to begin reopening economy in February (5:01 PM)
Israel will begin the gradual reopening of its economy in February and much of it will be active by March, Finance Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday.
As of Sunday morning, 1,772 IDF soldiers and civilian employees had been diagnosed with Covid-19, Jerusalem Post reported. In addition, 12,196 are isolated at home. About 31,110 soldiers have so far received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine.
Australian Open to go ahead as 47 quarantined players (16:47 HK)
The Australian Open tennis tournament will continue as scheduled next month, even after a group of 47 players were sent to a 14-day hotel quarantine when they arrived in the country.
Players on two separate charter flights that arrived in Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi on Friday will spend two weeks in isolation with no opportunities to practice, after four positive Covid-19 cases were confirmed, including tennis coach Sylvain Bruneau. Authorities revealed the fourth positive test on Sunday, a member of a broadcast crew.
Hong Kong Expects Highest Unemployment Rate at 16 (16:46 HK)
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate for the three months ended December is likely to exceed its highest level in 16 years due to the impact of stricter restrictions on the coronavirus, Finance Secretary Paul Chan said on his blog on Sunday.
The latest unemployment rate is scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Unemployment rose to a maximum of 6.4% for the three months ended October, the highest level since January 2005.
Los Angeles Cases Top 1 Million (16:28 HK)
Confirmed cases, the Greater Los Angeles area has exceeded 1 million, although county scientists estimate that the actual cases could be three times larger.
The benchmark means that one in 10 people in LA County gave positive results at one point in the outbreak. The health department reported 14,669 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total to just over 1 million. The county also added 253 new deaths, for a total of 13,741.
Taiwan adds second case in last two days (3:40 pm HK)
Taiwan on Sunday reported another local case of Covid-19, the second such case in two days.
A doctor at a hospital in northern Taiwan tested positive on Sunday after working with another doctor who was previously confirmed to be infected. A nurse from the hospital also gave positive results on Saturday.
The number of cases has risen to five in the last month, after the island ended what was the longest stretch in the world without an internal infection.
German cases, deaths increase (15:30 HK)
Germany reported an increase of 14,817 to 2,038,645 cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Covid-19 deaths increased by 242 to 46,464.
Dubai bets on vaccines for Expo 2020 (14:15 HK)
Dubai is hoping that one of the world’s fastest vaccination programs and rapid testing technology will help achieve its goal of hosting the Expo 2020 event this year, after the coronavirus pandemic forced a delay.
The government aims to open the Expo on October 1 and says it is still possible that 25 million people will visit the city for the six-month event.
Tokyo has 1,592 cases; Thailand reports 374 (14:00)
Tokyo reported 1,592 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, while severe cases of Covid-19 rose to 138.
The country’s Ministry of Health intends to set up about 10,000 vaccination stations in medical institutions across the country, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. The government aims to distribute about 1,500 freezers capable of storing Pfizer Inc. vaccine. at -75 degrees Celsius by the end of February, the report shows. Japan plans to distribute at least one freezer to each of the 10,000 stations by the end of June.
Meanwhile, Thailand reported 374 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the nation’s total to 12,054. Of the new cases reported, 364 were local infections and 10 were imported, with 70 deaths.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on Sunday that he would not rush to use vaccines with “incomplete” tests and said that Thailand would not be the “test” country for vaccines.
South Korea to announce results on Celltrion coronavirus treatment (12:30 pm HK)
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will hold a meeting of the advisory group on Sunday to examine the results of clinical trials of Celltrion CT-P59 treatment for coronavirus and will announce its findings on Monday, Yonhap reported. The drug will have to go through the advisory commission’s review and two more stages of verification to be approved as effective and safe, according to Yonhap.
Singapore requires tests on arrival (9:45 am HK)
Meanwhile, Singapore is also strengthening its border control and will do so ask all incoming passengers to take a PCR test on arrival on 25 January.
Australia to contact Pfizer, Norway over vaccine concern (7:25 am HK)
The Australian Medical Authority will request information from Pfizer Inc. and the Norwegian health authorities after the Nordic nation expressed concern about the safety of the company’s vaccine for the elderly with serious health conditions.
Australia’s foreign ministry will also contact the Norwegian government to discuss the issue, Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday. Australia has a agreement for 10 million doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, along with three offers with other suppliers.
Norway has expressed concern after raising an estimate of the number of elderly people who died after vaccinations to 29. Pfizer and BioNTech are working with the Norwegian regulator to investigate the deaths.
Denmark reports first case of mutation in South Africa (3:23 am HK)
The first case of the mutant coronavirus variant in South Africa was discovered in Denmark, according to SSI, the government agency responsible for combating infectious diseases.
The case was discovered in Zealand and is related to a trip to Dubai.
Brazil’s weekly cases are recorded (17:53 pm NY)
Brazil reported 61,567 cases on Saturday, ending a week with the latest infections since the start of the pandemic, the health ministry said. the data show. The total number of cases is now 8,455,059.
Deaths decreased this week compared to the previous one and, unlike infections, deaths did not reach the level of the summer outbreak. The nation reported another 1,050 deaths on Saturday, for a total of 209,296.
Louisiana joins state-reported virus variant (16:29 NY)
Louisiana has become the latest state to report a case of a more transmissible variant of coronavirus first found in the UK. The infected person it’s said had a history of travel outside Louisiana, a statement from Governor John Bel Edwards’ office said Saturday.
Meanwhile, Virginia has reported a record 6,757 new cases.
France, Italy Stable Cases (14:29 NY)
France reported 21,406 new cases on Saturday. This falls within the range of cases reported in the last four days and with a seven-day rolling average of infections at 18,148.
Italy reported 16,310 new cases and 475 deaths on Saturday, according to figures reported the day before. The country will close the borders for most regions on Sunday, including Milan and Rome, with the Milan area back in a “red zone” where leaving the house is forbidden, except for the necessary reasons.
Portuguese minister tests positive after meeting with EU officials (14:20 NY)
Photographer: Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP / Getty Images
Portuguese Minister of Finance, Joao Leao gave positive results for Covid-19, the finance ministry said on Saturday, a day after attending meetings with European Commission officials.
Leao is self-isolating at home, the ministry said in an email statement. He has no symptoms and works.
– With the assistance of Abigail Moses, Chikafumi Hodo, Cindy Wang, David Stringer, Hooyeon Kim, Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Gearoid Reidy