Ski jumpers outside the Olympics; Sweden Lifting Curbs: Virus Update
(Bloomberg) – Omicron cases spread in China during the countdown to the Winter Olympics in Beijing, with a leading back jumper retiring after she tested positive.
Sweden will lift coronavirus restrictions from next week, citing a high vaccination rate and a manageable situation in its hospitals, while France’s health minister said the country is past the worst of the latest wave.
A sub-variant of omicron, known as BA.2, is spreading rapidly in South Africa and could cause a further increase in infections, said one of the country’s leading researchers. BA.2 appears to be more transmissible, although it does not appear to cause more serious illness.
New Zealand will release its long-standing pandemic border restrictions from the end of February.
Important developments:
- Virus tracker: Top 384 million cases; deaths pass 5.70 million
- Vaccine tracker: More than 10.1 billion shots administered
- The Omicron sub-variant spreads even faster: Raphael and Fazeli
- New virus research will accelerate the NIH’s next outbreak response
- Turkey, Russia dominate European airport rankings after the pandemic
- What Covid therapies are available and what Omicron is changing: QuickTake
- Sign up for the free Coronavirus Daily newsletter here
German group backs second booster (18:06 HP)
The German Vaccine Commission recommends a second messenger RNA booster syringe for the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or who work in medical and other health care facilities.
The second booster should take place at least three months after the first for people who are at least five years old and at increased risk of serious illness, the STIKO Commission said on Thursday. For those working in medical and other care facilities, the second booster should take place at least six months after the first, the commission said.
Case in Indonesia near six months (17:59 HP)
Indonesia recorded the highest number of infections in almost six months as the omicron variant spreads. The government reported 27,197 new cases on Thursday, the most since August 14. The number of cases has risen sharply from less than 100 to the end of December.
HK cases can penetrate the health system (17:56 HP)
Hong Kong officials warned that the city could see exponential growth in infections as the number of undetectable cases continues to rise, potentially overwhelming the healthcare system. The financial hub reported 31 unconnected infections among 142 new cases on Thursday. Of these, 121 were local cases. Another 160 preliminary positive cases were detected.
“We are quite concerned that we will see more and more cases, hundreds or even more cases, and that could be a burden on our healthcare system,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, director of the Centers for Disease Control at the Center for Health protection. She asked residents to stay home as much as possible while the virus circulates.
Singapore nods to Pfizer Pill (17:16 HP)
The Singapore Health Sciences Authority approved Pfizer Inc.’s oral Covid pills. Paxlovid is the first tablet approved in the city state for the treatment of mild to moderate disease in adult patients. It will be prescribed and prioritized for people at higher risk for serious illness.
Sweden’s lifting restrictions (15:36 HP)
Sweden will lift the restrictions from next week, with reference to a high vaccination rate and a manageable situation in its hospitals, despite what is called a massive increase in the spread of infection. – It is time to open up Sweden again, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at a press conference in Stockholm.
“The worst is behind us,” said the French minister (14:20 HK)
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said the country had endured the most difficult part of the latest pandemic.
“The worst is behind us,” the minister said late Wednesday on BFM TV, adding that the number of hospital admissions is at its peak.
France’s vaccine passport could be phased out before July if current infection trends continue, he said. About 7 million people will lose their vaccine passes by February 15 if they do not receive a booster.
S. African Excess Deaths Fall (14:10 HK)
South Africa’s abundant deaths, seen as a more accurate assessment of the effects of the coronavirus than official statistics, have dropped to levels last seen before the omicron variant was identified.
The number of excessive deaths, a measure of mortality above a historical average, dropped to 886 during the week ending January 23, compared with 1,329 the week before, according to a report by the South African Medical Research Council. This is the lowest since the week ended on October 24.
Omicron at the Beijing Olympics (13.00 HP)
The Beijing Olympic Committee reported the highest daily number of cases for Olympic-related staff, with a total of 55 people testing positive on February 2 at the airport and inside the closed circle protecting Olympic participants and staff from the rest of China.
The world-leading female ski jumper Marita Kramer from Austria will miss the Olympics because she did not recover from the virus in time, Reuters reported. The Games, which will be held jointly in Beijing and the adjacent city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, will run from February 4 to 20.
Tokyo will raise medical system alert (10:28 HP)
Tokyo will raise its alert for strains on the medical system to the highest level as cases continue to increase, FNN reported, citing an unidentified person. Experts will meet on Thursday and will raise it to level 4 from 3.
Japan’s death rate for Covid reached its highest level in more than four months, according to data compiled by Our World in Data, as daily falls broke the previous record last week. The country reported 94,930 new daily cases and 82 deaths on Wednesday, according to the TV broadcaster NHK.
Fallen in Myanmar Rises (9:20 HP)
Myanmar’s Ministry of Health warned people to strictly follow restrictions and to immediately inform health officials when they begin to feel symptoms, as the country reported 10 locally transmitted omicron cases in the commercial capital Yangon. The deaths were among 143 new infections on Wednesday.
South Korea’s death rate drops (09:11 HP)
South Korea broke another record in daily cases, topping 22,000 infections for a second day, but the death toll continued to fall. The country’s high vaccination rate can lead to fewer people becoming seriously ill.
Mortality, which hovered around 1% before omicron, dropped to 0.75% on Thursday, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Patients in critical condition stayed below 300 during the seventh day. South Korea has fully vaccinated 95.4% of those 60 years and older.
Thai fall on three-month holiday (09:02 HP)
Thailand’s infections jumped to 9,172, the highest daily number since October 30, when Southeast Asia’s second largest economy resumed a quarantine – free visa program this week. The nation reported 21 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 22,228.
Singapore’s Case Growth Slows (08:57 HP)
Singapore’s weekly infection growth – a barometer previously used to decide whether to ease or tighten restrictions – has fallen over the past week and a half, from a peak of 2.75 on 23 January to 1.41 on 2 February.
Vacations often cause the falls to subside before they recover. Local government leaders had warned that visits during the Monday weekend could spread omicron, forecast cases could rise to 10,000 or even 15,000 per day.
Reducing hospital stays in Australia (7:53 HP)
Hospital admissions and intensive care units in Australia have declined “significantly and significantly” in all states over the past week, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told reporters on Thursday. The death rate from the omicron variant is 0.1%, Kelly added.
Separately, Australia will expand its booster program to people aged 16 and 17 from Thursday, said Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
Undervariant can cause S. Africa Surge (7:30 am HK)
A subspecies of the omicron coronavirus strain, known as BA.2, is spreading rapidly in South Africa and could cause a second increase in infections in the current wave, said one of the country’s leading researchers.
Studies show that BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than the original omicron strain. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that the subvariant causes more serious disease, based on infections seen in Denmark and the United Kingdom
Airlines ask to scrap US entrance test (07:07 HP)
A coalition of airline industry groups, including Airlines for America, has asked the Biden administration to remove the test requirements for fully vaccinated international arrivals to the United States. Air passenger volumes for international air travel are still 38% below 2019 levels, the coalition said in a letter.
New Zealand to ease border restrictions (06:48 HP)
New Zealand will begin easing border restrictions in late February for the first time since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the rules during the first month of the pandemic.
The border will reopen for vaccinated New Zealanders and some critical workers coming from Australia on February 27, and for the same groups from the rest of the world on March 13, Ardern said on Thursday. Returning citizens will no longer have to enter a state-run isolation facility on arrival, but will need to isolate themselves and return negative tests.
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