(Bloomberg) — Police in Ontario have begun to clear out people who’ve been blocking the Ambassador Bridge between Canada with Detroit in a protest against Covid-19 restrictions. But freight traffic remains halted there.
Earlier Saturday, French police removed demonstrators and towed away cars during an attempt to blockade Paris by people opposing the nation’s Covid-19 pass.
China’s central government will give full support to Hong Kong as the city’s worsening outbreak strains health-care resources and threatens its Covid-Zero strategy. Hong Kong Chief Secretary John Lee met with mainland officials to ask for urgent pandemic support.
Key Developments:
- Virus Tracker: Cases pass 409.5 million; deaths top 5.8 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.3 billion shots administered
- Why China is sticking with its Covid-zero strategy: QuickTake
- The era of pandemic restrictions is fast coming to an end
- Mask guidelines around U.S. ease, bringing confusion and relief
Canada Police Push Back Protesters on Bridge (2:27 p.m. NY)
Police in Windsor, Ontario have begun to clear out people who’ve been blocking the Ambassador Bridge between Canada with Detroit in a protest against Covid-19 restrictions. But freight traffic remains halted there.
Officers in yellow vests gathered in rows near the bridge in Windsor Saturday morning and marched slowly toward the group, warning them verbally they could face criminal charges if they continue to occupy roadways.
As police slowly backed protesters up Windsor’s Huron Church Road and away from the bridge, they were also shutting down streets throughout the city in an effort to keep more vehicles from joining the demonstration. They were creating an ever-widening perimeter around downtown and the neighborhood that holds the main demonstration site.
Austria Weighs Further Easing (10:56 a.m. NY)
Austria is expected to decide on further steps to ease coronavirus restrictions at a meeting on Wednesday, to take effect Feb. 19, according to local media.
“We have always said that we will only maintain restrictions for as long as absolutely necessary. Each of us wants back the freedoms we’ve been without for so long,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said, according to Der Kurier newspaper.
As of Saturday Austria’s retail sector is back on a 3G regime, which means anyone vaccinated, recently recovered from Covid or with a negative test can enter stores. Masks are still required in many indoor settings. Austria is still pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate, with authorities set to start imposing fines in March. Vienna saw another large protest Saturday against the mandate.
French Police Clear Protesters at Champs-Elysee (10:12 a.m. NY)
French police began removing demonstrators and towing away cars as they cracked down on attempts to blockade Paris by people inspired by Canada’s “freedom convoys.”
Despite the interception of convoys on the Paris ring road, several demonstrators avoided police controls and drove to the Champs-Elysees in the center of the capital to try to block traffic. Paris officers used tear gas to disperse them crowd, and they said in a tweet that tow trucks were removing vehicles. At least 14 people were detained.
France banned the “convois de la liberte,” or freedom convoys, protesting the country’s Covid-19 vaccine pass. That bars unvaccinated people from most social activities, including going to restaurants and cultural spaces.
Turkey Giving Merck Pill to Covid Patients: NTV (8:47 a.m. NY)
Turkey is starting to distribute Merck & Co.’s antiviral pill, molnupiravir, to people over 65 who have tested positive for Covid-19, according to NTV television channel.
The medicine was approved by the ministry of health last week. Turkey has recorded 12.8 million Covid-19 infections and about 90,000 deaths. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently recovered after testing positive for the omicron variant.
Hong Kong Gets Beijing’s Help (8:24 a.m. NY)
China’s central government will give full support to Hong Kong as the city’s worsening outbreak strains health-care resources and threatens its Covid-Zero strategy, Chief Secretary John Lee said after a meeting with mainland officials to ask for urgent pandemic support.
Hong Kong asked the mainland for help on several fronts, including for Chinese experts to help the city analyze virus strains, help build quarantine and isolation facilities, and supply tests kits and virus equipment to Hong Kong. The announcements came after Hong Kong reported a record 1,514 daily virus cases.
Hong Kong’s banks will suspend operations at one in every four local branches after a number of employees were infected, the South China Morning Post reported. HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered and Bank of China are among the lenders closing a total of 276 branches, the newspaper said.
But Lee said the Hong Kong government has no plans for a city-wide lockdown.
China Gives 3 Billion Doses, Approves Pfizer Pill (7:45 a.m. NY)
China has given 3.04 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far, the government said. That’s almost 30% of the world total.
The tally came as the nation granted emergency approval for Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 pill, a sign of potentially opening up to foreign treatments for the virus.
Paxlovid’s import registration was approved 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 SE, for which China’s Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. secured rights for the Greater China region, has yet to be approved in China.
Malaysia, Indonesia Infections Surge (6:55 a.m. NY)
Malaysia’s new coronavirus cases neared a level last seen in August, when the country was battling the peak of an outbreak of the delta variant. The nation reported 22,802 new infections Saturday, the most since Aug. 26.
The rising vaccination rate — nearly 80% of the population completed the regime and 56% of adults received booster shots — is keeping hospital admission rates manageable. The government has said it will avoid a repeat of last year’s lockdowns that pushed the economy into contraction for two quarters.
Neighboring Indonesia reported 55,209 new cases, the most since July.
U.K. Treasury Wants to End Free Tests: Guardian (6:10 a.m. NY)
The U.K. Treasury is pushing to end most free Covid testing as soon as next month, the Guardian reported, citing unidentified sources.
The Treasury would like most so-called PCR testing for people with symptoms of the virus to stop possibly by the end of March, the newspaper said. This would exclude people in vulnerable categories or hospital settings, while people showing virus symptoms would receive either free lateral flow tests or no testing, according to the report.
Norway Ditches Most Restrictions (6 a.m. NY)
Norway removed the remaining virus restrictions because it considers their effects more damaging than higher infection rates. Norway joins neighbors Denmark and Sweden in making those changes, expecting the coronavirus to turn endemic.
“We are well protected, and aren’t served by pushing the pandemic out in time,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in Oslo. Face masks are no longer needed, and people no longer need to maintain a 1-meter (3-foot) distance or isolate after being infected, he said.
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.
China Has More Infections at Olympics (11:05 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.
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.
Walmart Drops Mask Rule for Vaccinated Staff (8:10 a.m. HK)
Walmart no longer will 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.
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.
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