(Bloomberg) — China granted emergency approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill, in a sign the country could open up further to foreign treatments for the virus. Japan will ease its strict border controls, starting with foreign workers and students, the Nikkei reported.
U.K. travel firms get a much-needed boost starting this weekend as thousands of vaccinated Britons head to continental Europe for the mid-term school break, kicking off what could be a bumper year for travel.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dropped mask mandates amid an easing up in Covid-19 cases that’s paved the way for Wall Street staff to return to offices.
The premier of Canada’s biggest province declared a state of emergency, warning protesters choking off traffic at a key U.S. border crossing they face stiff punishment if they don’t leave. Ontario’s Superior Court granted an injunction barring protesters from blocking the crossing.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases top 408 million; deaths pass 5.8 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.3 billion shots administered
- Mask guidelines around U.S. ease, bringing confusion and relief
- Wall Street bosses push ‘live with it’ mindset in office return
- The Era of Pandemic Restrictions Is Fast Coming to an End
- Why China is sticking with its Covid-zero strategy: QuickTake
Hong Kong to Report Record Infections (1:20 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong will report a record of about 1,510 daily virus cases on Saturday, local media reported, as city officials prepare to meet mainland counterparts in China to discuss ways of combating a worsening outbreak that is straining healthcare resources. The city reported a 1,325 daily inflections on Friday, its previous highest tally.
U.K. Travel Firms Get a Boost (1 p.m. HK)
U.K. travel firms get a much-needed boost starting this weekend as thousands of vaccinated Britons head to continental Europe for the mid-term school break, kicking off what could be a bumper year for travel.
Eurostar International Ltd. expects the biggest leap in customer numbers since October over the 10 days through Feb. 20, with more than 125,000 people booked to board its Channel Tunnel express trains, surpassing the total for the whole of January. Many of the nine daily services from London to Paris are sold out.
The U.K. arm of TUI AG, Europe’s biggest tour operator, said booking levels for its flight and hotel packages are comparable to 2019 levels.
Hong Kong Bank Branches Shuttered (12:12 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong’s banks will suspend operations at one in every four branches in the city after a number of employees were infected, the South China Morning Post reported.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered and Bank of China and another 13 major lenders will close a total of 276 branches, the newspaper said. The closures started last week and will continue Monday.
China Has More Infections at Olympics (1105 a.m. HK)
China reported four Covid infections among Olympic athletes and team officials. Total Covid infections among people involved with the Beijing Winter Olympics since Jan. 4 rose to 498, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data.
Japan to Ease Border Controls: Nikkei (10:49 a.m. HK)
Japan will ease its strict border controls, beginning with foreign workers and students, the Nikkei reported. The government will start accepting more than 1,000 people a day this month and will gradually raise the cap to several thousand.
The controls, put in place in late November as the omicron variant started to spread, are by far the strictest among the Group of Seven nations.
Germany Reports 209,789 New Cases (10:18 a.m. HK)
Germany reported 209,789 new Covid-19 cases, down from 240,172 the day before. New deaths associated with the virus rose by 198, bringing the total to 119,877.
Singapore Air Hires Cabin Crew Again (10:10 a.m. HK)
Singapore Airlines Ltd. resumed recruitment of cabin crew, ending a two-year hiring freeze, Channel News Asia reported. The airline plans to increase capacity as travel demand picks up, it said.
China Approves Pfizer’s Virus Pill (9:44 a.m. HK)
China granted emergency approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill, in a sign the country could open up to foreign treatments for the virus.
Paxlovid’s import registration was approved on Friday, the National Medical Products Administration said. The Chinese regulator asked for further research results to be submitted in a timely manner.
It’s China’s first approval for a foreign Covid-19 drug. The mRNA Covid vaccine co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, for which China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. secured rights for the Greater China region, has yet to be approved in China.
Thailand Keeps Curbs With Cases at 5-Month High (9:35 a.m. HK)
Thailand’s new Covid-19 infections surged to a five-month high, prompting the government to keep containment measures in Bangkok and other areas to curb the outbreak.
The number of cases rose to 16,330, the highest single-day tally since Aug. 29, according to government data. The country also reported 25 new deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 22,387.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha asked Bangkok and nine other provinces with the highest number of daily infections to take steps to contain the outbreak, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Covid panel, said yesterday.
Walmart Drops Mask Rule for Vaccinated Workers (8:10 a.m. HK)
Walmart will no longer require fully vaccinated employees to wear masks unless required by state or local rules.
In addition, a policy allowing five extra days of paid time off for workers testing positive for Covid-19 will end March 31 as planned, Walmart said in a memo to employees Friday. Daily health screenings will no longer be needed for workers, except in California, New York and Virginia, which have state requirements.
The changes by Walmart represent a step away from pandemic-era rules as governments across the U.S. lift mask mandates for indoor spaces. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer is the largest U.S. private-sector employer, with about 1.6 million employees in the country.
Ontario Court Ruling Aims at Ending Blockade (6:20 a.m. HK)
Ontario’s Superior Court granted an injunction barring protesters from blocking the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario. The injunction that aims to end the blockade will take effect at 7 p.m. local time, Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz said in a court proceeding.
The court plans to resume late Friday to work out the details and specific wording of the injunction.
The Ambassador Bridge has been largely closed since Monday night. The conduit carries about one quarter of the commercial trade between the U.S. and Canada.
Canada Bridge Blockade Defies Court Injunction: Protest Update
JPMorgan, Goldman Drop Mask Mandates (5:05 a.m. HK)
JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs dropped mask mandates amid an easing up in Covid-19 cases that’s paved the way for Wall Street staff to return to offices.
JPMorgan said in a memo to employees that masks are now “completely voluntary” for vaccinated staff in its U.S. buildings, unless more stringent local restrictions are in place. Goldman Sachs similarly removed a mandate, a spokeswoman for the bank said.
Boris Johnson Gets Police Questionnaire (4:45 p.m. NY)
Boris Johnson received a legal form from U.K. police investigating allegations he attended parties with government officials that broke national lockdown rules during the coronavirus pandemic.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police, whose commissioner Cressida Dick quit suddenly this week, sent a legal questionnaire to the prime minister and dozens of officials as part of the investigation. Johnson has maintained he didn’t break any rules at the Downing Street gatherings.
Adams Defends NY’s Termination Notices (4:03 p.m. NY)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams defended the decision to issue termination notices to unvaccinated city workers on Friday in light of protests and backlash from municipal worker groups.
More than two dozen unions this week sued over the Feb. 11 vaccine deadline for municipal workers to get vaccinated, including the Police Benevolent Association, the United Federation of Teachers and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
Jobs are at risk for about 3,000 workers who took unpaid leave instead of getting vaccinated when the city’s mandate took effect in October, as well as about 1,000 recent hires who haven’t submitted documentation of their second shots.
Vaccine for U.S. Kids Under 5 Delayed (3:45 p.m. NY)
A Covid-19 vaccine for children under age 5 is unlikely to be cleared for use in the U.S. until the spring after federal regulators opted to postpone a review scheduled for next week to wait for more data.
Food and Drug Administration advisers had been planning to consider a two-dose regimen of Pfizer Inc.’s shot on Tuesday. The delay is to allow the company and its partner BioNTech SE to gather and evaluate more information on the impact of a third dose, agency officials said Friday in a statement.
New Eli Lilly Antibody Cleared by U.S. (3:35 p.m. NY)
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted an emergency authorization for use of bebtelovimab in patients 12 and older with confirmed Covid-19 who are at high risk of progressing to severe disease, and for whom other treatment options aren’t accessible or clinically appropriate.
U.S. regulators cleared a new Eli Lilly & Co. monoclonal antibody for patients at high risk of mild to moderate Covid-19, after a similar therapy developed by the company turned out to be ineffective against the omicron variant.
Macron Calls for Order (2:19 p.m. NY)
President Emmanuel Macron called for order as protesters against France’s Covid-19 vaccine passes headed toward Paris to attempt to blockade the capital, inspired by Canada’s “freedom convoys.”
Police set up barricades and armored vehicles at some Paris intersections, including along the Champs-Elysees. Tractors and water cannon were also deployed.
Meantime, France is lifting some travel restrictions imposed to counter the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the French Prime Minister’s office said in an emailed statement. Starting Saturday, vaccinated travelers won’t need to take a test to enter France, regardless of the country of origin.
Belgium to Lift Most Restrictions (11:40 a.m. NY)
Belgium agreed to loosen most of the virus restrictions it introduced late last year now that all but one of the indicators used to monitor the surge of the omicron variant show that the outbreak is past its peak.
Starting on Feb. 18, the requirement to work from home four days a week will disappear and become a recommendation, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Friday. At that time, nightclubs will also reopen, pubs and restaurants won’t face a mandatory closing hour or table limits, and a ban on events with moving crowds will subside, along with the obligation for children younger than 12 to wear masks.
Judge Blocks Biden Contractor Mandate (11:38 a.m. NY)
An Arizona judge issued a final judgment in a challenge to President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring Covid-19 vaccines for federal contractor workers, shielding the state’s employees and companies that do business with the government from the mandate.
Judge Michael Liburdi of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Phoenix on Thursday granted a permanent injunction against the executive order, after a previous order from January that temporarily blocked its enforcement and didn’t define its full scope. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued over the vaccine requirement, saying it exceeded the scope of executive power.
Dutch Nightclubs to Defy Restrictions (11:15 a.m. NY)
Nightclubs in the Netherlands are planning to open their doors to the public on Saturday night in defiance of Covid-19 restrictions.
“The Night Rises” campaign was launched to protest government rules that force bars, clubs and cafes to shut at 10 p.m. Clubs taking part in the movement are estimated to have sold around 20,000 tickets, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
Ontario Declares Emergency Over Protests (10:59 a.m. NY)
The premier of Canada’s biggest province declared a state of emergency, warning protesters choking off traffic at a key U.S. border crossing they face stiff punishment if they don’t leave.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in a news conference Friday alongside his solicitor general, said the government is enacting new powers to end the blockade, including issuing fines of up to C$100,000 ($78,800) and jail time.
“We will also provide additional authority to consider taking away the personal and commercial licenses of anyone who doesn’t comply with these orders.,” Ford said, according to prepared remarks.
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