(Bloomberg) —
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.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has returned a negative test for Covid-19 after being identified as a close contact, although she will continue to self-isolate in line with health ministry rules.
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.
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 podcast host Joe Rogan.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 374 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
China Bans Meat from Autralia 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 Under Omicron (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 Cold Storage 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 Remains 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.
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 and molnupiravir from Merck — 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.”
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