(Bloomberg) —
London may be past the peak of the fast-spreading omicron variant of coronavirus, the city’s regional health director told Sky News, but a separate study shows the U.K. still faces a possible $48 billion hit to its economy due to staff absenteeism.
China posted its first community-spread omicron cases in Tianjin as the northern port city moved to begin mass testing to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Covid-19 variant while Hong Kong is also detecting more infections that it can’t trace back to origin. A Melbourne court rejected the government’s request to delay a hearing on whether tennis star Novak Djokovic’s recent Covid infection will give him an exemption from Australia’s vaccine requirements so he can play in the Australian Open.
New York, Mexico, the Philippines and Japan’s Okinawa prefecture have all reported daily infections at record levels in the past few days while Australia’s new daily case numbers also jumped to a record with a backlog of home test results. Nationwide, U.S. daily infections almost doubled over the last week, with hospitalizations rising rapidly and fatalities trending upward.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases exceed 305 million; deaths pass 5.48 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.42 billion shots administered
- Awash with vaccines, nations struggle to get them in arms
- Vaccine skeptics slammed in Europe
- Hong Kong is at a Covid-19 tipping point
- Covid test makers struggle to cope with whiplash from omicron
Qatar Allows Boosters for 12-Year Olds (9:19 a.m. NY)
Qatar approved the Pfizer-BioNTech booster coronavirus vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 years, having already approved shots for those aged 16 and 17. Children who received their second dose more than six months ago are eligible for boosters.
Italian Vaccinators Work Into the Night (9:12 a.m. NY)
Italy will extend vaccination bookings into the evening in order to accelerate the inoculation of its eldest citizens, the country’s Covid Emergency Czar Francesco Paolo Figliuolo said on Rai 3 TV on Sunday.
Last week Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration made vaccination compulsory for people over 50 and further reduced what the unvaccinated can do, in its latest bid to fight the surge in cases. The country aims to give between 11 million and 13 million of vaccine doses by the end of the month, including 450,000 boosters per day, Figliuolo said.
London May Be Past Omicron Peak (8:12 a.m. NY)
London “may well be past the peak” of its omicron wave, Kevin Fenton, London’s regional director for public health, said on Sunday.
“The peak may have occurred at or just about the new year period,” Fenton told Sky News, citing data from the Office for National Statistics. “We’re seeing reductions in overall case rates across the city, and the prevalence within the community.”
While new cases may be slowing, nearly one in ten Londoners are still infected, Fenton said. London was the first U.K. epicenter for the omicron variant, but other parts of the country now have higher and still-rising seven-day case rates.
U.K. Minister Wants Shorter Isolation Times (7:21 a.m. NY)
Britain’s education secretary is calling for a cut in isolation times.
Speaking on the BBC and Sky News, Nadhim Zahawi said reducing virus-linked isolation times to five days from seven would be “helpful” for managing rising staff absences in English schools and businesses, and that any final decision should be driven by scientists, namely the U.K. Health Security Agency.
India’s Budget Airline Sees Fewer Passengers (7:20 a.m. NY)
IndiGo, the biggest budget carrier in India, plans to reduce about 20% of its operations as travel demand drops amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country.
Djokovic Hearing Set for Monday (7:18 a.m. NY)
A bid by the Australian government to postpone a court hearing for Novak Djokovic was rejected, but officials stuck to their position that the tennis star violated immigration law and should be deported before the Australian Open.
The vaccine-skeptical world No. 1 tennis player has been confined to a Melbourne hotel used to detain refugees and asylum seekers, after being rejected by border authorities when he arrived on Jan. 5 to compete in this year’s first Grand Slam tournament.
Djokovic’s lawyers argued on Saturday that he was granted a valid medical exemption from Australia’s strict vaccination rules following a positive Covid-19 test on Dec. 16. The government rejected that position in a response posted on Sunday. A virtual court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said on Channel Nine Sunday that it was “clear” that requirements stipulate that “you need to be double dose vaccinated, if you’re not an Australian citizen, to come into Australia.”
German Freight Association Warns of Bottlenecks (6:39 a.m. NY)
Some trucking supply routes are at risk of failing because of the impending wave of infections, German logistics association BGL said.
“Omicron has the potential to increase supply bottlenecks,” BGL President Dirk Engelhardt told newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Germany’s seven-day incidence rate climbed further and reached 362.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest since Dec. 14, according to Robert Koch Institute data Sunday. That compares with the nation’s pandemic record high of 452.4 reached on Nov. 29.
Netherlands Finance Minister Starts Job With Covid (5:26 a.m. NY)
Sigrid Kaag, who is set to become the first female finance minister of the Netherlands, said she has tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. The Dutch king is expected to formally swear in the government on Jan. 10, when the parliamentary recess ends, and Kaag, who is also the leader of the progressive centrist D66 party, said she’ll attend the ceremony digitally.
U.K. Economy Faces $48 Billion Hit (5:49 p.m. HK)
The U.K. economy could face a 35-billion pound ($48 billion) loss in output over January and February, because of staff shortages caused by Covid-19 illness and mandatory isolation, according to The Sunday Times.
The projected loss is equivalent to 8.8% of gross domestic product and based on government planning assumptions of a 25% absenteeism rate, the study conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research showed. Much of the lost output could be made up during the rest of the year, the CEBR said.
More Untraceable Cases in Hong Kong (5:10 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong reported 33 confirmed positive infections Sunday — of which 6 were local and the rest imported — most of which carry the omicron variant, health official Chuang Shuk-kwan said at a briefing Sunday. Chuang raised concern about silent chains of community transmission in a separate list of 20 preliminary positive cases, one of them a 20-year-old part-time saleswoman at Sogo department store in Causeway Bay whose source of infection is unknown.
That’s a worrying trend for city officials who have upheld a zero tolerance approach to Covid since the pandemic began, and typically trace each new case or cluster. Since Friday, the city has returned to the strictest social distancing measures as a fifth wave sparked by the omicron variant takes hold: evening dining-in is banned and leisure venues like bars, gyms and museums have been ordered to close.
Philippines Outbreak Reaches Record (4:14 p.m. HK)
The rate of positive tests and reported daily infections in the Philippines reached record levels on the weekend as some banks prepare for shorter operating hours from Monday.
The Covid-19 positive rate rose to a record 44%, indicating more than two in five tested for the virus actually have it. The health department reported 28,707 new confirmed daily infections and 15 new deaths on Sunday.
Some banks are moving to shorter hours and encouraging clients to use digital or mobile platforms amid the rising cases. The latest outbreak had prompted airlines to cancel flights, while staff shortage in laboratories also delayed the release of virus test results.
More Than 400 Indian Parliament Staff Test Positive (4:02 p.m. HK)
More than 400 workers at India’s parliament have tested positive for Covid-19, ANI reported on Sunday citing unidentified sources.
The positive results were recorded from Jan. 4 to 8 with their samples sent for genome sequencing to confirm the variant, ANI said.
Italy to Require Reinforced Green Pass for Trains, Hotels from Jan. 10 (3:44 p.m. HK)
Italy will only allow people showing a so-called reinforced green pass to board trains, planes, boats and to access to hotels, open air restaurants and swimming pools from Jan. 10.
The reinforced certification is already mandatory in the country for many leisure activities, including eating inside restaurants, and going to theaters, cinemas, sporting and other public events. Unlike the original green pass, the reinforced version doesn’t grant access to the unvaccinated even if they have had a negative covid test.
Hong Kong Rail Operator Issues Vaccine Mandate to Staff (1:41 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong rail operator MTR Corp. is mandating that employees receive at least one Covid vaccine dose by late February as the city battles a fifth wave of coronavirus infections sparked by the omicron variant.
All staff entering company premises must receive one dose by Feb. 23 and two by the end of April unless they have certified medical conditions that prevent them from getting the vaccine, MTR said in an emailed response to Bloomberg News. It also urged employees to get their booster shots as soon as possible if they are eligible.
Regular testing will not be accepted as an alternative to receiving the vaccine, it said, adding that it will follow up with individual employees who refuse to take the vaccine by the deadline.
The government is racing to get more citizens vaccinated as just 62.4% of the population has received two doses so far, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. At least one dose will be required to enter many leisure and sports venues such as restaurants, gyms and cinemas from late next month.
Indian Cases Top 100,000 a Third Day (1:10 p.m. HK)
India reported 159,632 new cases as the country notched its worst three-day stretch of infections since June.
The latest numbers mark the third straight day that infections have topped 100,000 with the country’s total reaching 35.5 million. Virus-related deaths in India rose to 483,790.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, told a virtual briefing there are no plans to impose a lockdown while urging people to use masks and get vaccinated.
Mexico Breaks Daily Covid Record With Over 30,000 New Cases (11:56 a.m. HK)
Mexico broke its record for daily Covid-19 infections, reporting 30,671 cases on Saturday as the omicron variant continues to spread.
Deaths rose by 202 to 300,303, while total registered cases reached 4.1 million. The country’s low testing levels means the real number of cases is likely much higher.
Mexico is expected to increase vaccinations in the next few days with teachers scheduled to receive their booster shots starting Jan. 8. Pre-registration for a third dose is also open for people 40 and over. Currently, everyone over the age of 60 and health-care workers are eligible for a booster shot in the country. Mexico has fully vaccinated 57% of its population, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Hong Kong Economy to be Hit by Omicron Wave, Finance Chief Says (11:46 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan expects the city’s economy to take a hit as a fifth wave of coronavirus infections sparked by the omicron variant takes hold.
The government has yet to give economic forecasts for 2022, which is expected during Chan’s annual budget speech in February, but he said in his blog post on Sunday that he will also take into account the global pandemic, supply-chain bottlenecks and changes in monetary policies by western central banks in making his predictions.
Economists at Morgan Stanley and Bloomberg Economics have already cut their economic growth forecasts for Hong Kong, citing the delayed reopening of borders with China.
U.S. Troops in Japan to Limit Movement on Covid (10:38 a.m. HK)
Japan has agreed with the U.S. that American forces stationed in the country won’t leave their bases except for essential reasons in an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19 cases, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday.
His comments came as areas hosting or close to U.S. bases saw some of the biggest increases in infections on a per head of population basis. That prompted the government to introduce restrictions for the first time in months in some localities. Regional governors have blamed the problem at least in part on U.S. forces.
“The result of discussions is that unnecessary outings will soon be prohibited. We’ve reached a broad agreement on that and are working on the details,” Kishida told public broadcaster NHK.
China Reports First Community Spread; Starts Tianjin Tests (10:29 a.m. HK)
China reported its first community-spread omicron cases on Sunday, with two people confirmed with the variant in the northern city of Tianjin, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday. Community spread is where a disease is spread within a group of people who have no known contact with a person infected or exposed to the disease.
The cases were confirmed as being omicron by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, after its local branch completed the genome sequencing, CCTV reported. The two new cases were found to be from the same transmission chain but officials have yet to establish if the strain is the same as imported omicron cases reported earlier in the city, according to the report.
The city announced that it would start mass testing from 7 a.m. Sunday, in order to “effectively prevent the further spread of the omicron variant,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
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