(Bloomberg) —
More than 10% of Iran’s parliament tested positive for Covid-19 in the past two days, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
The number Covid infections among athletes and team members in Beijing for the Winter Olympics continues to grow as the Games near, with an additional 16 cases reported on Sunday by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics.
T-Mobile US Inc. will fire corporate employees who are not fully vaccinated by April 2, according to a memo to staff obtained by Bloomberg News. In South Korea, the number of critical patients in hospitals edged lower, while the Philippines announced it will ease curbs for its capital as case counts fall from record levels. In the U.S., weekly fatalities hit their highest point in almost a year.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 372.5 million; deaths pass 5.6 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.1 billion shots administered
- Coronavirus Daily: U.S. task force to focus on next threat
- UAE, Saudi top list of best places to be in an omicron world
- Airlines anxiously await road warrior return to office and air
- What we know about the omicron variant now: QuickTake
Iranian Parliament (3:57 p.m. HK)
Thirty Iranian lawmakers, accounting for more than 10% of the country’s parliamentary seats, tested positive for Covid-19 over the last two days, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The country has seen a sharp increase in infections, surging to nearly 11,000 new cases a day in the past week, up from about 1,402 a day in early January.
Turbo-Charging Swiss Economy (2:39 p.m. HK)
Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset is seeking a “turbo” reopening of the Swiss economy next month, according to SonntagsZeitung. On Wednesday, Berset asked the Swiss Federal Council to lift the country’s Covid-19 restrictions — including the work from home requirement and the obligation to show a vaccination certificate. The reopening process could begin as soon as Feb. 16, the report said.
Infections at the Olympics (12:33 p.m. HK)
China reported another 34 Covid infections among people involved in the Winter Olympics on Sunday, including 16 athletes or team members, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics said. The number of infections among the teams has increased since the first reported case less than a week ago on Jan. 24, with 19 new cases reported Saturday.
There is also evidence that the virus has penetrated the “closed-loop” system that the organizers of the Games established to keep the pathogen out. There were 11 infections reported Sunday from within the Beijing bubble, including three athletes or team members. The other 23 cases were found among incoming air travelers involved in the Games.
The other infections come from a stakeholders category that includes media, marketing personnel, members of the international federations, staff and family members.
Philippine Capital to Ease Curbs (12:22 p.m. HK)
The Philippines will ease movement restrictions in its capital from Feb. 1 to Feb. 15 because its Covid case count has declined from a record level. Outdoor businesses can operate at 70% capacity, while gyms and cinemas can open at half capacity in metro Manila, which accounts for one-third of the nation’s economic output.
Daily infections fell to less than 18,000 Saturday, from nearly 40,000 in mid-January.
South Korea Critical Cases Dip (8:30 a.m. HK)
South Korea saw a further decline in critical Covid-19 patients in its hospitals. Some 277 critical patients were reported on Sunday, down from 431 one week ago, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The authorities have warned overall case numbers could still surge to new records in coming weeks.
U.K. Expands Vaccines to Vulnerable Children (8 a.m. HK)
The U.K.’s health service will start to vaccinate children between the ages of five and 11 who are most at risk of Covid-19 starting this week.
Children who are particularly vulnerable or who live with someone whose immune system is suppressed will be able to get their first dose, according to an NHS statement. Around 500,000 children will be eligible.
Omicron Subvariant Shows No Clinical Difference in NSW (7:50 a.m. HK)
Patients with the BA.2 omicron subvariant in Australia’s most populous state are not demonstrating clinical differences in symptoms or in the effectiveness of vaccines, said Kerry Chant, chief health officer for New South Wales.
Covid-19 patients in the state’s hospital system remained broadly stable, with 182 ICU cases in the most recent 24-hour period.
Australia’s NSW to Help Small Businesses (7:35 a.m. HK)
Australia’s most popular state and home to Sydney will hand more than A$1 billion ($700 million) in government aid to small and medium sized firms to help with the economic recovery.
A payment of up to A$5,000 per week for businesses with revenue of between A$75,000 and A$50 million will start from Feb. 1, New South Wales state premier Dominic Perrottet said Sunday. The state also extended relief for commercial landlords to March 13.
“We know this will help many small businesses that have been doing it tough,” he said.
Trucker Protest Masses in Ottawa (4 p.m. NY)
A convoy of truckers and others who oppose vaccine mandates rolled into Ottawa, Canada for a weekend of rowdy protests that have become a rallying point for wider anger at Covid-19 restrictions.
The initial motivation for the protest was a new rule requiring truckers to show proof of vaccination when entering Canada, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government implemented on Jan. 15. Until then, truckers had been allowed to cross the U.S.-Canada border with few restrictions. The U.S. imposed a similar mandate on Jan. 22.
Now the protest has become a catch-all movement against Covid restrictions, having been championed on prime time Fox News shows, Joe Rogan’s podcast and Elon Musk’s Twitter feed.
T-Mobile to Fire Unvaccinated Staff (2:41 p.m. NY)
T-Mobile US Inc. will fire corporate employees who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 2, according to a memo to staff obtained by Bloomberg News.
In the email to U.S. employees, the wireless carrier’s human resources chief also said that office employees who haven’t received the first dose of a vaccine by Feb. 21 will be placed on unpaid leave. The policy applies to all employees who need “regular or occasional” access to T-Mobile’s offices, which the company says includes almost all staff.
In a statement, T-Mobile confirmed its vaccination deadline for office staff.
GOP Governors to Follow D.C. Virus Rules (11:41 a.m. NY)
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said he and other elected officials have no objection to following local mask mandates and proof of vaccination requirements while in Washington, D.C.
Speaking at the National Governors Association’s winter meeting, the Republican governor said that while his state has “moved beyond mandates,” he had no problem with those imposed by D.C.’s local government.
“We respect each jurisdiction. I have my vaccination, I’ve got my card, I’ve been tested,” he said. “We are following local rules out of respect and, of course, that is a requirement.”
Hutchinson also noted that governors will be meeting with President Joe Biden over the weekend and that “it’s important that he is protected” from the coronavirus.
U.S. Weekly Fatalities Highest in Almost a Year (9:57 a.m. NY)
Even as U.S. infections slow, weekly deaths have climbed to their highest point in almost year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The figures show fatalities reached almost 16,700 in the week that ended on Friday, the most since mid-February 2021 and the fourth straight weekly increase.
Weekly cases have fallen for two consecutive weeks, to 3.8 million, from a peak of 5.6 million two weeks ago, the data show, as the surge caused by the omicron variant has begun to ease in many parts of the U.S. Higher death tolls generally lag peak infections by several weeks.
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