(Bloomberg) —
New York City will provide free antiviral pills, home-delivered, to people who test positive and are at higher risk from Covid-19, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday.
Spotify Technology SA outlined steps it will take to halt the spread of misleading information about Covid-19 on its audio-streaming service in an attempt to quell a growing controversy over its support for the podcast host Joe Rogan.
Raucous protests in Canada’s capital continued Sunday over trucker vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 health restrictions, but the crowd thinned after drawing rebukes for poor behavior.
The number of infections among athletes and team members in Beijing for the Winter Olympics continues to grow as the Games draw near, with an additional 16 cases reported on Sunday.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 373.8 million; deaths pass 5.6 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.1 billion shots administered
- Coronavirus Daily: My spouse caught omicron. Am I missing out?
- UAE, Saudi top list of best places to be in an omicron world
- T-Mobile to fire corporate staff who don’t get vaccine
- What we know about the omicron variant now: QuickTake
Covid Patient Developed 21 Mutations: Study (3:45 p.m. NY)
A South African woman suffering from inadequately treated HIV, and who harbored Covid-19 for nine months, saw the respiratory virus develop at least 21 mutations while in her body, according to a study.
Once the 22-year-old adhered to the anti-retroviral medication used to treat HIV and her immune system strengthened she was able overcome the Covid-19 infection within six to nine weeks, the study, led by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University the University of KwaZulu-Natal showed. The research has not been peer reviewed.
The study adds to evidence that Covid-19 may mutate rapidly when harbored by immunosuppressed individuals, such as those not taking medication to treat HIV, and this may lead to the development of new variants.
Trucker Protest Stays Put in Canada (3:38 p.m. NY)
Raucous protests in Canada’s capital continued Sunday over trucker vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 health restrictions, but the crowd thinned from its height a day earlier after drawing military and political rebukes for poor behavior.
The main avenue outside the parliament buildings in Ottawa remained blockaded by a line of big rigs, and protesters speaking on a makeshift stage said they don’t intend to leave anytime soon.
The trucker convoy has drawn an unusual amount of global attention, most recently from Donald Trump. “We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way,” the former U.S. president told a Texas rally Saturday night. The protesters in Ottawa are “doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders by far,” he said.
Spotify Moves to Halt Misinformation (3:17 p.m. NY)
Spotify Technology SA outlined steps it will take to halt the spread of misleading information about Covid-19 on its audio-streaming service in an attempt to quell a growing controversy over its support for the podcast host Joe Rogan.
Spotify published internal rules Sunday governing what content is and isn’t allowed on its service, and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek said in a blog post that the company will add an advisory to any podcast episode that addresses the coronavirus. That advisory will direct listeners to a hub offering more information about the pandemic.
Folk singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify last week in protest of Rogan, a popular podcaster who has hosted several outspoken skeptics of the Covid-19 vaccines. Both Young and Mitchell suffered from polio as children.
NYC to Home Deliver Antiviral Pills (3:03 p.m. NY)
New York City will provide free antiviral pills, home-delivered, to people who test positive and are at higher risk from Covid-19, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday.
“We want to make sure that no one with Covid has to move throughout the city,” Adams said at a press briefing in the Bronx. “We want you to take advantage of this.”
Both oral anti-viral medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — paxlovid from Pfizer Inc. and molnupiravir from Merck Inc. — will be available though in limited quantities, according a City Hall press release. They will be delivered in partnership with Alto Pharmacy.
Omicron Subvariant Not Likely a Threat: Gottlieb (12:26 p.m. NY)
The omicron subvariant, BA.2, appears to be more contagious but data so far doesn’t show it’s more dangerous or that it evades protection from vaccines, said Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
At worst, the strain could slow down the decline in omicron infections in the U.S., Gottlieb, a Pfizer Inc. board member, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” The subvariant has been found in small numbers in about half of U.S. states.
“I don’t think it really changes the narrative,” he said. “I don’t think this is going to create a huge wave of infection.”
Omicron and Inflation Crimp British Business (10 a.m. NY)
Restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant meant British business had its slowest growth since the first quarter of 2021, according to the Confederation of British Industry. Although many sectors are bouncing back from the depths of the crisis, the survey found that consumer services businesses expect activity to fall further.
Those businesses “will also have to contend with a deepening squeeze on household budgets, as rising energy prices and, more broadly, higher inflation start to bite,” said the lobby group’s chief economist Alpesh Paleja.
Germany Urged to Prepare for Reopening (7:18 a.m. NY)
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the government should prepare the ground for a loosening of coronavirus restrictions. While the peak of the current wave may still be weeks away, business sectors like trade fairs and events require a “planning horizon,” Lindner said in an interview with Der Spiegel.
Recent measures have focused on reducing social contacts and limiting access to public spaces for those who haven’t been vaccinated. The country reported 118,970 new infections on Sunday and the 7-day incidence rate reached a record of 1,156.8 per 100,000 people.
Turkish Minister Says Virus Has Weakened (7:49 p.m. HK)
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to no longer be afraid of Covid-19, claiming that death figures aren’t different from the seasonal flu and related diseases. “The sickness is not as strong as it used to be, do not worry,” Koca said on Twitter. Daily reported infections surged to a record 94,783 on Jan. 28.
Portugal Holds Third Election of Pandemic (7:47 p.m. HK)
Portugal will pick a prime minister to oversee the economy’s recovery from the pandemic during parliamentary elections on Sunday. It’s the third time voters have headed to the polls, following a presidential and local elections in 2021.
For the election, masks must be worn and voters have been asked to bring their own pens. People isolating due to Covid-19 are allowed to leave their homes to take part, preferably between 6-7 p.m. Voting started at 8 a.m. local time, and exit polls will be released at 8 p.m.
Iranian Lawmakers Test Positive (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.
Swiss Minister Seeks Turbo Reopening (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 Rise Ahead of 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.
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.
“We know this will help many small businesses that have been doing it tough,” he said.
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