(Bloomberg) — Tokyo is set to report more than 3,000 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday, Kyodo News reported, citing an unidentified government official. Sydney’s month-long lockdown will be extended by at least another four weeks.
South Korea and Thailand both announced record daily infections as the coronavirus continues to spread in Asia. U.S. health officials returned to tighter guidelines for the use of masks, advising that fully vaccinated individuals wear them in public indoor settings in places where the virus is spreading rapidly.
President Joe Biden said he’s weighing a requirement for federal workers to get vaccinated. AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine doesn’t raise the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder after a second dose, suggesting people who didn’t have trouble with the first shot shouldn’t hesitate to get another.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 195 million; deaths surpass 4.17 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 3.93 billion doses administered
- U.S. CDC tells vaccinated people to mask up in virus hot spots
- Singapore braces for a leap of faith in its Covid strategy
- Covid deaths surge in U.K. as officials warn pandemic isn’t over
- Moderna says foreign manufacturing partners facing delays
Astra Shot Brings No Increased Blood-Clot Risk After Two Doses (2:55 p.m. HK)
AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t raise the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder after a second dose, suggesting people shouldn’t hesitate to get a second shot if they didn’t have trouble after the first.
The estimated rate of the disorder, called thrombosis with thrombocyopenia syndrome, was 2.3 per million in patients who received a second shot, according to data published in the medical journal The Lancet. That’s comparable to what’s found in an unvaccinated population. But the rate after a single dose was still higher, at 8.1 per million.
Tokyo to Report Record Cases, Kyodo Says (2:25 p.m. HK)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is set to report more than 3,000 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday, which would be a daily record, Kyodo News reported, citing an unidentified government official.
WHO Starts Review Process for India Vaccine (2:00 p.m. HK)
The WHO has started the review process for adding an Indian firm’s Covid vaccine to its Emergency Use Listing, India’s junior health minister told lawmakers according to a local media report. If Bharat Biotech International Ltd.’s vaccine, Covaxin, makes it to the list, it would help Indians inoculated with this shot in traveling overseas.
India added 43,654 Covid-19 cases Wednesday, pushing the total tally up to 31.5 million. Covid-related deaths rose by 640 in a day to 422,022, latest data by the Indian health ministry shows. The second-worst-hit nation has administered a little over 446 million vaccine shots but only 7% of the country’s population is fully inoculated against the virus, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.
Meanwhile, a $1 billion cryptocurrency donation by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin to an India Covid relief fund is tied up in red tape. Only $20 million has been paid out so far, due to issues which range from cashing out of an illiquid asset to complying with government regulations.
Singapore Looks to Reopen to the World (1:50 p.m. HK)
Singapore is aiming for a feat no country has achieved so far: reopen to the world and emerge from the pandemic with a death toll still in the double digits.
In a plan laid out by officials this week, the tiny city-state that relies on being globally connected is eyeing the resumption of some international travel by September. To do that, it’s trying to snuff out an outbreak driven by the delta variant and reach a vaccination level — 80% — that few countries have achieved, but which the government says willput Singapore in a position where it can live with the virus without carnage.
Sinopharm Jab to Be Made Available in Singapore Soon, ST Says (12:45 p.m. HK)
Health Sciences Authority has given approval for IHH Healthcare Singapore to import the Sinopharm vaccine via the special access route, a company executive told the Straits Times. The details are still being worked out and formal announcement is to be made soon, the paper cited IHH Healthcare Singapore’s Chief Operating Officer Noel Yeo as saying.
U.S. House’s Top Doctor Tells Lawmakers They Must Don Masks (12:00 p.m. HK)
Congress’ doctor on Tuesday night reimposed a mask-wearing requirement for lawmakers and all others while they are on the House floor, and in hallways and offices.
A previous House-floor mask requirement for members and staff had been lifted last month.
Tokyo Olympics Find 16 More Covid Cases (11:00 a.m. HK)
The Tokyo Olympics found 16 more cases of coronavirus connected with the event, bringing the total number of reported infections to 169, although none of the new numbers involved athletes.
While case numbers at the sports spectacle have remained relatively low, the event comes amid a virus surge in Tokyo and many other parts of the country. The Japanese capital recorded a record 2,848 infections Tuesday, the worst since the pandemic began last year, as the highly infectious delta variant spreads. About a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated.
Tokyo is under a state of emergency, and surrounding areas are set to press the government to impose similar measures, but restrictions on daily life are limited to early closing and an alcohol ban for bars and restaurants.
Philippines Flags Rising Covid Cases in Capital (10:55 a.m. HK)
The Philippine Health Department said the delta variant could drive cases in the capital to 11,000 by end-September if mask and social distancing directives aren’t strictly implemented. Infections are now growing in most cities in the economically-important Manila region after decreasing weeks ago.
The Southeast Asian nation reported 7,186 cases Tuesday, the highest in over a month, as 4% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
China Added 55 Local Confirmed Covid Cases Tuesday (10:15 a.m.)
State broadcaster CCTV said 48 of the local confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in eastern province of Jiangsu on July 27. The southwestern province of Sichuan reported 3 local cases while Liaoning and Yunnan added 2 cases each.
Sydney’s Lockdown to Be Extended for 4 Weeks (9:05 a.m. HK)
Sydney’s month-long lockdown will be extended by at least another four weeks, with Australian authorities failing to flatten an outbreak of daily Covid-19 cases that on Wednesday surged to another record.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the lockdown has been extended until at least August 28. The restrictions began on June 26, when 12 new cases were recorded in the local community. The city’s outbreak has since swelled — fueled by the spread of the highly-contagious delta variant — with 177 more cases recorded on Wednesday, she told reporters.
South Korea’s Daily Coronavirus Cases Hit A Record (8:40 a.m. HK)
South Korea reported a record number of new coronaviruscases over the last 24 hours, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s website. Cases hit 1,896 versus 1,365 the previous day,
About 35% of the population, or 17.9 million people, have received at least one vaccine dose, while 13.6% of the population completed vaccination.
Thailand Reports Record New Covid Cases (8:35 a.m. HK)
Thailand reported 16,533 new infections on Wednesday, the highest single-day increase since the pandemic began, taking the nation’s cumulative cases to 543,361, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
The country reported 133 fatalities and 10,051 recoveries.
Phuket Tourism Experiment Risks Suspension (8:30 a.m. HK)
A flareup in coronavirus cases in Phuket, Thailand’s first tourism hotspot to waive quarantine for vaccinated foreign visitors, is threatening to scuttle the experiment seen as a model for other tourism-reliant nations to reopen borders.
The resort island reported 125 new Covid-19 cases during the week ending July 27, higher than the government-set threshold of 90 weekly cases that could trigger a temporary suspension of the program. In response, local authorities closed public schools and shopping malls and banned gatherings of more than 100 people from Tuesday to stem the virus from spreading further.
South Korea Says Delayed Vaccine Supply to Resume Next Week (8:00 a.m. HK)
South Korea and Moderna held an online meeting late Tuesday and Moderna agreed to resume delayed vaccine supply from next week, said Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum.
Singapore Local Virus Cases Stay Well Above 100 (7:45 a.m. HK)
Singaporean authorities found 136 locally-spread coronavirus cases, the government said Tuesday, marking over a week of daily tallies exceeding a hundred.
Fifty-five of these new cases are currently unlinked, raising concerns of undetected spread in Singapore even as the government imposed measures last week to curb transmission risk with banning dining-in and limiting social interactions to groups of two.
L.A. Push for Mandatory Vaccines for City Employees (7:30 a.m. HK)
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Nury Martinez announced they would push for mandatory Covid-19 vaccines for City employees, beginning with a requirement that workers either submit proof of vaccination or a weekly negative test.
Washington Post to Require Vaccinations (5:44 p.m. NY)
The Washington Post will require employees to prove they are vaccinated, joining the ranks of companies that are mandating workers get inoculated against Covid-19 as caseloads rise.
The newspaper, owned by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, will require employees to show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination “as a condition of employment” when they return to the office in September, Publisher Fred Ryansaid in a memo to staff.
Ford Reinstates Mask Mandate at Some Plants (5:42 p.m. NY)
Ford Motor Co. is reinstating mask requirements for some workers to slow an aggressive new strain of the coronavirus, telling employees Tuesday that it’s mandating face coverings at facilities in Missouri and Florida.
The company also is ordering U.S. employees planning international business travel to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said in an emailed statement. The move comes after General Motors Co. reinstated a mask mandate at a Missouri factory last week and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reverted to tighter mask guidelines.
Texas Cases Jump Most Since March (4:45 p.m. NY)
Texas posted its biggest daily jump in new cases and hospitalizations in almost five months. The Lone Star state detected 6,517 new virus cases, a level of infection not seen since the first week of March, state health department data showed. Meanwhile, 4,982 hospital beds were occupied by virus patients, the highest tally since March 5.
Intensive-care units are filling up in the hardest-hit parts of the state, including adjacent to the border with Louisiana, where the pandemic is once again rampant and straining some medical facilities. Two of Texas’s 22 trauma service zones are creeping toward the 15% intensive-care unit threshold that Governor Greg Abbott months ago pegged as the tipping point for reimposing anti-virus controls on movement and businesses.
Republican Senators Rip CDC Mask Change (4:30 p.m. NY)
Biden Eyes Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers (3:50 p.m. NY)
President Joe Biden said he is weighing a requirement for federal workers to get vaccinated as the highly contagious delta variant spreads throughout the U.S.
A vaccine mandate for federal workers is “under consideration,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday after visiting the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
U.K. to Welcome Vaccinated Tourists: FT (2:30 p.m. NY)
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected announced on Wednesday that fully vaccinated tourists from the European Union and U.S. can travel to England, according to the Financial Times, which cited government officials briefed on the discussions. The change could take effect as early as next week, the newspaper said.
Moderna Cites Foreign Manufacturing Delays (11:30 a.m. NY)
Moderna Inc. said its Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing partners outside the U.S. are “facing delays” due to laboratory testing issues that occurred in recent days.
While the problem has been resolved, it has slowed release of Moderna’s vaccine to markets outside the U.S., a company spokeswoman said in an email.
The problem will cause short-term adjustments to vaccine delivery outside the U.S., she said in the email. Shares fell as much as 4.5% in New York trading on Tuesday.
U.S. Returning to Tighter Mask Guidelines (11:20 a.m. NY)
U.S. health officials will return to tighter guidelines for the use of masks, advising that fully vaccinated individuals wear them in public indoor settings in places where the virus is spreading rapidly as part of a response to the spread of the delta variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will recommend that teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, according to a preview of guidance to be released later today. Children should return to full-time, in-person learning in the fall with prevention strategies in place, the preview said.
Dutch Weekly Cases Drop Almost 50% (9:15 a.m. NY)
Weekly cases in the Netherlands fell almost 50%, while hospital admissions rose to 538, the highest since mid-June, the national health service reported. There were 37,343 cases in the week ending July 27, down from 69,731. The government on Monday said a ban on multiday events such as music festivals will be extended until at least Sept. 1.
Israel Allows Shots for Ages 5-11 at High Risk (9:09 a.m. NY)
Israel will allow vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 who are at high risk of falling seriously ill or dying from Covid-19. The Health Ministry didn’t issue a blanket recommendation for vaccine use in the age group, instead listing conditions such as obesity and chronic severe lung disease as prerequisites.
Indonesia Marks Another Deadliest Day (6:25 a.m. NY)
Indonesia marked another grim record as 2,069 people died from Covid-19 over 24 hours. The Southeast Asian country has been reporting the highest number of deaths worldwide in recent days.
The delta variant has crippled the country’s health-care system and depleted supply of oxygen tanks. Indonesia’s number of new confirmed cases reached a three-week low Monday before rebounding to 45,203 on Tuesday.
Iran Posts Second Day of Record Infections (6:24 a.m. NY)
Iran reported a record number of daily new cases for the second straight day at 34,951. The death toll rose for a fourth day to 357, the highest in 10 weeks, the latest health ministry data showed. The country has reported 89,479 fatalities and over 3.7 million known infections.
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