(Bloomberg) —
Joe Rogan pledged more balance and better research for his podcast, seeking to quell growing controversy about misleading coronavirus information that led Neil Young and other artists to leave the streaming service Spotify Technology SA.
In China, the number of infections among athletes and team members in Beijing for the Winter Olympics continues to grow as the Games draw near, at an even faster clip than the Tokyo games last summer.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is pushing to quicken the pace of booster vaccinations, as a poll showed his voter support slipping months ahead of a key upper house election.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 375 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
Rogan Apologizes Amid Vaccine Controversy (9:20 a.m. NY)
Rogan said in an Instagram video that “If I’ve p—-ed you off, I’m sorry,” and that he’d work harder to research particularly controversial topics.
Folk singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify last week in protest of Rogan, who has hosted several outspoken skeptics of the Covid-19 vaccines.
India Extends Ban on Rallies (8:06 a.m. NY)
The Election Commission of India has extended a ban on roadshows and processions till Feb. 11 in five poll-bound states. As many as 1,000 people will be permitted physical public meetings in open spaces.
Voting in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous and politically crucial state, along with four other states, will start from Feb. 10. India has witnessed a decline in daily cases in the past few days. It recorded about 209,000 new infections in a single day on Monday.
Romania Cuts Back on Quarantine ((7:47 a.m. NY)
Romania will change the quarantine rules and lower the isolation period to 5 days from 10 days for unvaccinated people who were in direct contact with a confirmed case. It will also introduce the mandatory green certificate for everyone entering the country, regardless of the area from where they came.
People without the certificate will be sent into quarantine.
Spain Adds Face Masks to Inflation Gauge (4:48 a.m. NY)
Spain has included the cost of face masks in its list of articles to gauge inflation, in the latest example of the far-reaching impact of the pandemic.
The consumer price index basket is revised periodically and updated to “include new products whose consumption starts to be significant,” the national statistics institute said in a statement.
Italy Reports 976,223 New Covid Cases (3:57 a.m. NY)
In the week ending Jan. 30, Italy reported 189,530 fewer new Covid-19 cases, with 207 more deaths than the week before, according to data released by the Italian government.
Total cases have increased to 2.6 million, a decline of 91,089 from a week ago.
China Bans Meat from Australia Supplier (2:09 p.m. HK)
China has temporarily banned meat from Teys Australia’s Naracoorte facility, the latest in a string of import halts from Australia in two years as authorities in Beijing increase scrutiny of overseas processing plants.
The ban follows a Covid outbreak at the processing plant which sparked controversy after workers were told they should still come to work even if infected with the virus, unless their symptoms rendered them too unwell. The company, which is part-owned by U.S. agricultural giant Cargill, backed down from the mandate following a backlash.
Hong Kong’s Covid Zero Crumbles (1:22 p.m. HK)
As residents prepare for another Chinese New Year under Covid-19 restrictions, omicron seems to have gotten the better of the city’s defenses, with a record number of new and untraceable infections.
“The horse has bolted, and I don’t think that the government is going to be able to get on top of this,” said David Owens, a family medicine specialist and honorary clinical assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he has collaborated on Covid research. “This disease is just too transmissible.”
Chief Executive Carrie Lam is unlikely to give up completely on efforts to eradicate the virus while Chinese President Xi Jinping adheres to that policy in the mainland, but her government can’t deploy the blunt tools that China has used to lock down millions of people in cities like Xi’an and Tianjin.
Japan Seeks Faster Booster Rollout (12:06 p.m. HK)
Kishida inspected a military-run vaccination center Monday, ahead of a push to get boosters to the public, as a survey published by the Nikkei newspaper showed his support had dropped six percentage points to 59%. It was the first fall since he took office in October.
The premier said he’s not considering declaring a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo right now, even as cases jump and the hospital bed occupancy rate climbs. The capital currently is under a quasi-emergency state that calls on places such as eateries and bars to close early and limit alcohol sales.
New Cases Among Olympic Arrivals (11:36 a.m. HK)
China reported combined 12 Covid infections among Olympic athletes and team officials arriving via the airport and in “closed-loop” system Sunday, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics.
There were also 25 other infections involving “stakeholders,” which include broadcasting staffers, members of international federations, marketing partners’ personnel, Olympic and Paralympic family members and media and workforce staff members.
Combined Covid infections among those involved with the Winter Olympics are now at 248 since Jan. 4, according to a Bloomberg calculation based on official data.
Beijing Officials Punished for Outbreak (9:24 a.m. HK)
Local regulatory officials and supply chain company management failed to do in-depth inspection of the chain and failed to recognize illegal storage of cold food imports at facilities in districts of Fangshan and Fengtai, according to a statement published on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection website late Sunday.
China reported 40 local confirmed Covid-19 cases on Jan. 30, with 24 cases in Zhejiang province, 11 in Tianjin and three in Beijing, according to the National Health Commission.
Hong Kong Won’t Lock Up Covid Zero Critics (8:57 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong denied that criticism of the city’s strict policy to push for zero Covid-19 cases is illegal under a sweeping national security law that has silenced dissent in the former British colony.
“Making general remarks and discussion is not illegal,” a government spokesman said in a statement Sunday.
The national security law, imposed by Beijing in June 2020, has since been used to target opposition lawmakers, journalists and activists who opposed the city’s government. The content covered under the law is unclear, with certain political slogans banned after its implementation.
New Zealand Prime Minister in Isolation (7:08 a.m. HK)
“In line with Ministry of Health guidance she is required to continue isolating until the end of Tuesday, February 1, or as otherwise advised by Public Health,” a spokesperson said in statement, adding that Ardern will remotely chair a Tuesday cabinet meeting.
The prime minister began self-isolating last week after being deemed as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case on Jan. 22 during a flight from Kerikeri to Auckland, according to a statement from her office.
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 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 Rogan.
Read more: Joe Rogan Brings the Misinformation Debate to Podcasting
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.
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