(Bloomberg) — Spain’s government will suspend the obligation to wear face masks outdoors as soon as next week, Cadena Ser reported. Germany declared a third consecutive day of record cases.
South Korea will extend limits on gatherings and dining out for two weeks after unprecedented case numbers.
Japan will unveil relaxed border controls as soon as next week, broadcaster TBS said, after some of the toughest curbs in the developed world failed to contain the omicron variant.
In South Africa, omicron sub-variant BA.2 has become more prominent, accounting for almost a quarter of new infections in January, while a local company has made a vaccine similar to Moderna Inc.’s.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 388 million; deaths pass 5.7 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.1 billion shots administered
- Covid’s endemic shift means slowdown for virus-product makers
- New virus research will speed NIH’s next outbreak response
- What we know about omicron and its subvariant BA.2: QuickTake
- Sign up for the free Coronavirus Daily newsletter here
Hong Kong Reports 131 Cases, 130 Local (4:55 p.m.
HK)
Hong Kong reported 131 cases, with 130 locally transmitted. Fifty nine of the 130 new locally-transmitted coronavirus infections reported on Friday are of unknown origin, Department of Health official Chuang Shuk-kwan says at a daily briefing.
About 195 preliminary positive cases are detected.
Spain Set to Relax Mask Rules (4:49 p.m. HK)
Spain’s government will suspend the obligation to wear face masks outdoors as soon as next week, Cadena Ser reported.
The order, which was reintroduced last December to stem the Omicron variant, will take effect by next Wednesday, the radio station said, citing people in the government it didn’t identify.
Malaysian Cases at Highest in Three Months (4:11 p.m.
HK)
Malaysia’s new cases rose to the highest level in more than three months as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads in the Southeast Asian nation. There were 7,234 new infections on Friday, the most since Oct.
16, data from the health ministry show.
The spike in cases comes a day after Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government is focusing on the severity of the infections, rather than the number.
While Malaysia is grappling with community transmission of omicron, Khairy said the nation is better protected now — nearly 52% of adults have received booster shots — and knows how to protect the most vulnerable.
Thailand Sees Most Cases Since October (4:02 p.m.
HK)
Thailand reported 9,909 new cases, the highest single-day tally since Oct. 18. Rising new cases are in line with expectations, Permanent Secretary for Health Kiatiphum Wongrajit said, adding that serious infections and virus-related deaths are showing signs of stabilizing.
S.
Africa’s Afrigen Makes Shot Like Moderna’s (3:10 p.m. HK)
South Africa’s Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines Ltd. has made a messenger ribonucleic acid or mRNA vaccine similar to that made by Moderna Inc., Nicholas Crisp, deputy director general in the country’s Department of Health, said Friday.
Meanwhile, the omicron sub-variant BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, accounted for almost a fifth of South African cases in January compared with 4% in December, a medical official said.
Germany’s Record Cases (1:53 p.m.
HK)
Europe’s biggest economy reported 248,838 new cases as of Friday morning, compared with 236,120 the day before, according to the country’s public health authority RKI.
It’s the third straight day of record infections.
The 7-day incidence rate, which has been steadily climbing since the start of the year, also rose to a record 1,349.5 per 100,000 people.
Japan to Relax Border Controls: TBS (12:36 p.m. HK)
Japan’s government will unveil relaxed border control measures as soon as next week, broadcaster TBS reported, with elaborating on how or when measures would be eased.
Daishiro Yamagiwa, minister in charge of the nation’s coronavirus response, was quoted as saying that while the government will be “flexible” about border controls that will be kept in place until the end of this month, it wants to eventually open up the country to “essential” foreigners.
China Reports 9 Olympic Cases (11:22 a.m.
HK)
China reported nine infections among Olympic athletes and officials arriving at the airport and in a “closed-loop” system Thursday.
According to a statement from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics, there were 12 other infections involving “stakeholders,” which include include broadcasting staffers, members of international federations and the media.
There have been 308 cases among people involved with the Games since the count began Jan. 23.
S. Korea to Keep Distancing (9:02 a.m. HK)
South Korea will extend current social-distancing curbs, including limiting private gatherings to up to six people and 9 p.m.
closing hours for restaurants and cafes, for another two weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said.
The steps will be effective through Feb. 20. South Korea has been reporting unprecedented numbers of new cases.
Daily infections hit a new record of 27,443 on Friday.
Indonesia to Review Restrictions (8:54 a.m. HK)
President Joko Widodo has ordered ministers responsible for overseeing the pandemic response to immediately review restrictions after a spike in cases.
Indonesia added the highest number of cases in almost six months as the more transmissible omicron variant spreads throughout the country.
N.Z.
Welcomes Slow Spread of Omicron (7:54 a.m. HK)
The slow spread is giving more people the opportunity to receive boosters, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The strategy has to ensure the health system isn’t overwhelmed, she said.
“Taken as a whole there is a range of factors that are making a difference to New Zealand’s experience of omicron versus other countries,” she said.
“That’s a sign of success.”
Iowa, Maryland End Health Emergencies (5:57 p.m. NY)
Governor Kim Reynolds said she would allow Iowa’s public health emergency declaration, first issued near the start of the pandemic in March 2020, to expire on Feb.
15.
“The flu and other infectious illnesses are part of our everyday lives, and coronavirus can be managed similarly,” the Republican governor said in a statement.
Health emergencies were declared at the start of the pandemic in all 50 states, and the expanded power of governors proved contentious in many of them.
Roughly half of U.S. states have revoked them, and more are expected to do so as the surge caused by the omicron variant eases. Maryland, which includes part of the Washington metro area, allowed a 30-day state of emergency to expire on Thursday.
Colorado Hopeful on Omicron Immunity (4:36 p.m. NY)
Public health modeling suggests 80% of Colorado residents could be “immune to infection” from the current omicron variant by mid-February, Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, said during a Thursday briefing.
At the same time, the number of omicron cases remains elevated “and we have a long way to come down,” said Scott Bookman, Covid-19 incident commander at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Johns Hopkins researchers estimate 70.1% of Coloradans are fully vaccinated.
Amex Tells NYC, U.K. Staff to Start Returning (2:15 p.m. NY)
American Express Co. is encouraging staffers in New York and the U.K.
to start returning to the office early next month as Covid-19 cases recede globally.
AmEx has previously said most colleagues will work remotely at least part of the time even after the pandemic subsides.
The firm asked New York staffers in those hybrid roles to begin coming back one day a week starting March 1 before a wider return on March 15, Chief Executive Officer Steve Squeri said in an internal memo Thursday seen by Bloomberg News.
Kids’ Vaccinations Plummet (1:53 p.m.
NY)
Covid-19 vaccinations among children ages 5-11 have fallen to the lowest levels since the shots were first approved, a sign that parental enthusiasm for the shots may be running low even as authorities consider expanding the shots to even younger children.
The seven-day average of first doses fell to about 37,062 on Jan.
28, marking the slowest one-week period since the government approved the vaccines for those children on Nov. 2, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Just 31% of kids 5-11 have gotten a shot, compared with 75% of the total population.
Subvariant Has Spread Across Africa (8:50 a.m.
NY)
The omicron subvariant known as BA.2 has been found across Africa, and countries should sequence more samples so the extent of its spread can be determined, the World Health Organization said.
So far, the strain has been found in Senegal in West Africa, Kenya in East Africa and Malawi, Botswana and South Africa in southern Africa, Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi, a virologist with the WHO, said Thursday on a conference call.
Subvariant Dominant in Denmark (8:22 a.m.
NY)
The omicron subvariant BA.2 makes up 69% of confirmed cases in Denmark and will reach 100% by mid-February, according to a study from the Danish virus watchdog SSI. BA.2 is about 30% more contagious than the original omicron, known as BA.1, the study found.
While unvaccinated people have a bigger risk of contamination overall, those who have been vaccinated are more likely to catch the new strain than BA.1.
Denmark lifted all its Covid restrictions on Tuesday despite record daily cases, as hospitalizations and the number of people with severe disease are gradually declining.
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