(Bloomberg) — New Year’s Eve air travel got off to a bumpy start Friday morning, with more than 1,000 flights canceled in the U.S. and nearly as many scrubbed for Saturday as omicron infections disrupted airline staffing.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked the federal government to send medical staff, therapeutic drugs and testing equipment to aid the second-largest US state’s fight to contain the latest wave. Bank of America Corp. is encouraging its employees to work remotely the week of Jan. 3, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.
The number of new cases reported globally Thursday exceeded two million for the first time since the pandemic began.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 286.8 million; deaths pass 5.4 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 9.16 billion shots given
- JPMorgan, Citi employees to start 2022 by working from home
- Hong Kong is increasingly shut off as inbound flights drop
- Russia faces lost decade after deadliest Covid month
- What we know about the omicron variant now: QuickTake
Texas Pleas for Federal Help (12:23 p.m. NY)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked the federal government to send medical staff, therapeutic drugs and testing equipment to aid the second-largest US state’s fight to contain the latest wave.
Abbott, a Republican who has been highly critical of President Joe Biden’s approach to everything from pandemic response to Mexican border security, issued a public plea on Friday as hospitals in Houston and elsewhere strain under growing virus caseloads.
The request targets six counties that include the Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin areas, all of which are experiencing alarming growth in positivity rates and hospitalizations, Abbott said in an emailed statement.
BofA Staff Encouraged to Work From Home (12:05 p.m. NY)
Bank of America Corp. is encouraging its employees to work remotely the week of Jan. 3, according to a person with knowledge of the plans, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases following the rise of the highly contagious omicron variant.
The move follows plans by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to let employees work from home in the opening weeks of 2022, and encouragement by Citigroup Inc. that staff should log on remotely.
Ivory Coast Requires Testing for Gatherings (11:29 a.m. NY)
A negative antigen test will be mandatory at large gatherings, such as concerts, following a sharp rise in cases, the health ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page Friday.
Ivory Coast recorded 1,578 new cases on Dec. 30, with a positivity rate of 35%.
U.S. Airlines Cancel More Flights (11:13 a.m. NY)
New Year’s Eve air travel got off to a bumpy start Friday morning, with more than 1,000 flights canceled in the U.S. and nearly as many scrubbed for Saturday.
JetBlue Airways Corp. had scratched 145 flights, or 14% of its schedule, by 9:01 a.m. in New York, according to FlightAware.com, while Allegiant Travel Co.canceled 82 flights, or 17%. United Airlines Holdings Inc. had scrubbed the most flights among U.S. carriers, 207, representing 11% of its service.
Total cancellations came to 1,198, and 955 were already off the boards for Saturday. Airlines scratched 1,439 flights Thursday, with most of those logged by midmorning.
Zimbabwe Extends Lockdown by Two Weeks (7:36 a.m. NY)
Zimbabwe extended its so-called Level 2 lockdown to mid-January. The government will review lockdown measures again after two weeks, guided by a scientific appreciation of the coronavirus situation, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said.
Manila Curbs on Movement Tightened (7:25 a.m. NY)
The Philippines will tighten movement restrictions in its capital from Jan. 3 to 15 after cases rose “exponentially” in the past days, a government spokesman said.
Metro Manila, which accounts for a third of the nation’s economic output, will be placed under Alert Level 3, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Friday night. Outdoor restaurants can operate at half capacity, while cinemas, gyms and other indoor businesses are limited to 30% capacity.
U.K. Regulator Approves Pfizer’s Pill (6:38 a.m. NY)
Britain’s regulator approved Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral pill, just weeks after clearing rival Merck & Co.’s oral treatment.
The Pfizer drug, Paxlovid, was authorized for use in people over 18 with mild to moderate Covid and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said Friday.
Singapore Extends Travel Lane Testing (6:09 a.m. NY)
Singapore is extending its testing regime for travelers arriving via its quarantine-free vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) for another four weeks, according to the Ministry of Health.
Singapore found 912 omicron imported cases as of Dec. 30, of whom 685 were detected through its enhanced testing regime for VTL travelers.
Johnson Urges U.K. Holdouts to Get Boosted (5:27 p.m. HK)
Boris Johnson used his New Year message to urge holdouts to get vaccine boosters, as growing pressure on the U.K. National Health Service threatens to undermine his strategy to get through the omicron wave.
Close to one-third of eligible adults in England have yet to receive a top-up dose, according to a statement from the government Friday, even as it said it met its target to offer all adults a booster by the end of the year. The U.K.’s other devolved nations make their own health policy.
South Africa Sees Fewer Preconditions (4:23 p.m. HK)
Netcare Ltd., which operates South Africa’s biggest private health-care network, is seeing “significantly fewer patients” with pre-existing medical and respiratory conditions hospitalized during the omicron-driven fourth wave.
Earlier, South Africa eased restrictions meant to stop the spread of the virus even as the percentage of people testing positive for the disease exceeded 20% for the 19th straight day.
The government lifted a curfew that was in place from midnight to 4 a.m. with immediate effect and allowed establishments selling alcohol to operate beyond 11 p.m. This is the first time in almost two years that liquor sales won’t be restricted by any Covid-19 related measures. Wearing of masks in public will remain mandatory.
Hong Kong Plans Vaccine Mandate (3:52 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong will require at least one vaccine dose for visitors to some restaurants and recreational venues like cinemas, gyms before the Lunar New Year, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan says.
Meanwhile, two Hong Kong residents have been preliminarily diagnosed with Covid-19, marking the first community spread of the virus in nearly seven months. Both infections are likely linked to an air crew member who moved about the city following an overseas flight.
In light of the worldwide spread of omicron, the government recently ended exemptions for aircrew and increased the mandatory hotel quarantine to seven days for workers on cargo planes. The stricter rules prompted Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, to suspend all long-haul freight and cargo-only flights for seven days.
China Punishes People Fleeing Xi’an (12:45 p.m. HK)
Police in China are tracking down people trying to leave Xi’an, which has been on lockdown for more than a week. One man was caught after trying to wade across a river and another pedaled 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) on a shared bicycle to his hometown. A third man who hiked 100 kilometers from the airport to a nearby county was later sent to quarantine.
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said local authorities need to adopt more “targeted and forceful” measures and improve quarantine controls, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Thursday. China reported 166 local confirmed cases for Thursday, 97% of them in Xi’an.
South Korea Extends Restrictions (8:25 a.m. HK)
South Korea said its newly strengthened social distancing rules will stay in place for at least two more weeks. The restrictions, which ban private gatherings of five or more people and close restaurants and coffee shops at 9 p.m., were reinstated in mid-December as daily cases hit a record.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said it’s too early to say the crisis is over, even if cases have declined following the new rules and a ramped-up booster campaign. The country reported 4,875 new cases Thursday, falling for third day and bringing the seven-day average to its lowest since the tighter restrictions took effect.
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