(Bloomberg) —
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.
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.
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. 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 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
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.
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.”
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.
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