(Bloomberg) —
China warned that new infections will increase in the coming days after the latest outbreak, fueled by the delta variant, expanded to 11 provinces. It locked down thousands of people in the North.
Top U.S. health officials signaled confidence that children ages 5 to 11 will begin getting Covid-19 vaccines by early November. The Pfizer vaccines will likely be given at pediatricians’ offices rather than at pharmacies or large sites.
Singapore deployed its fake news law against the website Truth Warriors over its claims that Covid-19 vaccines are not effective. In Hong Kong, the financial industry is increasing pressure on authorities to ease virus restrictions.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 243.6 million; deaths surpass 4.9 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.86 billion shots given
- Resurgent Covid means it could be another tough winter
- Delta variant is bolstering the case for booster shots: QuickTake
Czechs Pick Up Vaccination Pace (3:18 p.m. HK)
The pace of vaccinations in the Czech Republic quickened after the government announced last week that health insurance companies will stop funding free coronavirus tests.
The country gave 118,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in seven days through Sunday, compared to 60,000 in a week ended Oct. 17, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said. The country slightly tightened curbs, including wearing masks in all indoor and outdoor spaces as of Monday to tackle exponential growth in new Covid-19 infections.
Red Cross Urges Help for Papua New Guinea: Report (2:57 p.m. HK)
Papua New Guinea urgently needs help from the international community as a surge in Covid cases overwhelms the Pacific country’s health system, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Coronavirus cases in the nation of nine million have surged in recent weeks, with 385 new cases recorded on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing the latest available government data.
Taiwan Seeks 60% Vaccination Rate for Border Reopening (1:15 p.m. HK)
Taiwan’s government may gradually reopen border when full vaccination rate reaches 60% and at least 70% of the population have received at least one shot, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported, citing Health Minister Chen Shih-chung. About 66% of the population has received at least one shot and about 26% of people are fully vaccinated as of Oct. 22, according to data from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.
Philippines Allows Covid Boosters for Health Workers (1:13 p.m. HK)
The Philippines’ Health Department has approved local experts’ recommendation to administer Covid-19 booster shots on health workers and adults 60 years and older starting this quarter.
The approved guidelines dated Oct. 13 generally recommend booster shots of the same vaccine brand. Those who got inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac can also get an additional dose of Pfizer’s shot. For those with weak immune systems, including those undergoing cancer treatment and dialysis, a third dose of the same vaccine brand is being recommended.
Read more: Philippines Allows Covid Booster Shots for Health Workers
Banks Pressure Hong Kong to Open (11:32 a.m. HK)
The finance industry is ratcheting up pressure on Hong Kong to ease its strict quarantine rules and abandon its zero-Covid policy after a survey found almost half of major international banks and asset managers are contemplating moving staff or functions out of the city.
In a letter sent over the weekend to Financial Secretary Paul Chan that was seen by Bloomberg News, the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association, the top lobby group for financial firms in the city, said the hardline approach has put Hong Kong’s status as financial center, its broader economic recovery and competitiveness at risk.
Read more: Global Banks Up Pressure on Hong Kong to Ease Restrictions
Singapore Issues Fake-News Directive Against Website (10:03 a.m. HK)
Singapore’s Ministry of Health has instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office to issue a Correction Direction to the “Truth Warriors” website for assertions related to the effectiveness of Covid vaccines, use of ivermectin as a treatment and more.
Read more: Singapore Deploys its Fake News Law Against Anti-Vaxxer Group
Jokowi Pushes for Southeast Asia Travel Arrangement (9:58 a.m. HK)
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo pushed for travel to reopen in Southeast Asia, saying this would help economic recovery in the region that has seen coronavirus cases recede.
He said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations needs to hit its vaccination target of 70% of the population of over 650 million people as soon as possible so that economies could reopen safely.
Jokowi, as the president’s known, has been pushing for a regional travel corridor arrangement since late last year. Instead, each country has set up bilateral deals with nations around the world, with Singapore reopening to North America and Europe while Thailand scrapped quarantine rules for 46 countries while excluding Indonesia.
Read more: Jokowi Pushes for Southeast Asian Travel Arrangement
China Locks Down Thousands in North (9:55 a.m. HK)
China locked down a county that has seen the most Covid-19 cases in the country’s latest delta outbreak, as an initial flareup in the northwest quickly spirals into a nationwide surge.
Ejin, a county in northwestern China’s Inner Mongolia, has asked its 35,700 residents to stay home from Monday and warned of civil and criminal liabilities should anyone disobey the order, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a local government statement. The small county bordering Mongolia is the current outbreak’s hotspot, home to nearly one-third of the more than 150 infections found over the past week in the mainland.
The lockdown came a day after a warning from National Health Commission officials that the outbreak would continue to worsen after spreading to 11 provinces in about a week. China reported 38 Covid infections on Monday, half of which were found in Inner Mongolia.
Read more: China Locks Down Thousands in North as Delta Outbreak Spreads
South Korea to Start Return to ‘Normal Life’ (9:42 a.m. HK)
South Korea will begin a “gradual return to normal life” in Nov. as 70% of the population has been fully vaccinated, President Moon Jae-in said at the National Assembly. Schools will reopen and small businesses will be revived, he said.
The country will announce details on easing social distancing rules for gradual return to normal life on Oct. 29.
Inner Mongolia County Tells People to Stay Indoors (8:18 a.m. HK)
Ejina, a county in western Inner Mongolia, asked all residents and travelers to stay indoors starting Monday to contain the spread of coronavirus, the local government said in a statement on Sunday.
Florida Surgeon General Refused to Wear Mask (1:57 p.m. NY)
Florida’s new surgeon general refused to wear a mask offered to him by a state senator who told him she had a serious medical condition — and she ultimately asked him to leave her office.
The encounter, earlier reported by Florida Politics, took place between Senator Tina Polsky and Joseph Ladapo, who met her in her office regarding his upcoming confirmation after being appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“He’s very smug,” Polsky said. “And I told him several times, ‘I have this very serious medical condition.’ And he said, ‘That’s OK,’ like it basically has nothing to do with what we are talking about.’”
Ladapo has questioned the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, and like DeSantis, opposes shot mandates. Florida was hit hard by the latest wave of the virus, accounting at one point for a fifth of U.S. cases.
Pediatricians Should Vaccinate Kids, Gottlieb Says (1:09 p.m. NY)
Children ages 5 to 11 should be vaccinated in their pediatrician’s offices, said Scott Gottlieb, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He’s a board member of Pfizer Inc., whose vaccine is to be considered for authorization for young children.
“Getting children vaccinated is a much more consultative endeavor,” Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “You don’t want children to have to go to mass vaccination sites or even necessarily a pharmacy. You want them to go into the comfort of their own pediatrician’s office.”
He said the vaccine, developed with BioNTec SE, will be packaged for doctors’ offices.
Two top U.S. health officials signaled confidence that children ages 5 to 11 will begin getting Covid-19 vaccines by early November.
“If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval … it’s entirely possible if not very likely that vaccines will be available for children from five to 11 within the first week or two of November,” Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
His comments were echoed by Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which must ultimately approve the shots. “There will be vaccine out there so children can start rolling up their sleeves,” Walensky said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Sunak Plays Down New U.K. Curbs (6:18 a.m. NY)
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak told the BBC that available Covid-19 data don’t support a move to harsher restrictions.
Speaking against a backdrop of rising virus cases and ahead of his budget this week, Sunak said a return to the furlough program that saw the government pay as much as 80% of the wages of idled workers was not on the cards. “We don’t envisage having to impose significant economic restrictions in the way that we had to over the last year.”
Russia Deaths, Cases Remain Near Record (4:17 p.m. HK)
Russian coronavirus cases and deaths remained near record levels on Sunday ahead of the implementation of strict nationwide curbs to stem a surge in infections.
There were 35,660 new cases and 1,072 deaths over the past day, slightly below records set Saturday, according to data from the national coronavirus headquarters. Last week, President Vladimir Putin ordered nationwide non-working days for the first week of November to slow the spread, while Moscow will be closed for most business from Oct. 28 through Nov. 7.
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