(Bloomberg) — The U.K. will accept vaccination certificates from the United Arab Emirates starting next month, in a boost to travel between two of the world’s busiest hubs. In the UAE, mask-wearing rules are being eased after a sustained decline in coronavirus cases.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn predicted the pandemic may be over by next spring once so-called herd immunity has been achieved, so long as no new vaccine-resistant variant emerges.
China’s northeastern city of Harbin is conducting tests of its 10 million residents and suspending schools for a week to control an outbreak. Singapore’s prime minister said the country is doing its best to expand its coronavirus control operations after new cases topped 1,000 in three of the past four days.
Key Developments:
- Global Virus Tracker: Cases pass 229.4 million; deaths exceed 4.7 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6 billion doses administered
- FDA is expected to decide on Pfizer booster shots on Wednesday
- China’s weak holiday spending shows impact of Covid controls
- Biden plans donation of 500 million shots, doubling goal
- Why the delta variant is giving more children Covid
- Alpha, delta and more. Why virus variants cause alarm: QuickTake
U.K. to Accept UAE Vaccination Certificates (4:41 p.m. HK)
The U.K. will accept vaccination certificates from the United Arab Emirates next month, in a boost to travel between two of the world’s busiest hubs.
Dubai is preparing to host millions of people for one of the world’s biggest in-person events since the pandemic started. The Dubai Expo 2020 global trade fair begins on Oct. 1 and the city hopes to attract 25 million visitors to the six-month event.
At the same time, the UAE eased rules on face masks amid a sustained decline in coronavirus cases. The gulf nation will no longer require them on beaches and pools, as well as in beauty salons and medical centers during treatment. No masks will be required while exercising outdoors, or alone in closed spaces.
The UAE has rolled out one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in the world. Infections have been dropping steadily, with daily cases falling below 400 on Sunday for the first time in more than a year.
Czech Republic Orders Shots for Kids (4:39 p.m. HK)
The Czech Republic pre-ordered 700,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children aged 5 to 11, Health Minister Vojtech Adam told CTK news agency. The country will start offering the shots to kids only after it’s been approved by the European medical regulator, unlike neighboring Slovakia, which began allowing child vaccinations this month. The Czech Republic had 599 new infections on Tuesday, the highest number since the end of May, according to the health ministry data.
U.K. Adds Covidshield to Approved Vaccines (4:34 p.m. HK)
The U.K. included Covidshield, the Indian-manufactured version of the Covid-19 shot developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, in its updated list of approved vaccines. Under the new rules, which take effect on Oct. 4, those who were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before traveling to England will no longer have to quarantine after arriving.
U.K., South Korea to Swap Vaccines (3:59 p.m. HK)
The U.K. and South Korea will share over one million vaccine doses with each other to enhance the rollout of jabs, the U.K.’s Department for Health says in an emailed statement.
The U.K. is sending over one million Pfizer/BioNTech doses, with the first batch expected to arrive in coming weeks. By the end of 2021, South Korea will return the same volume of doses to the U.K., as the government continues with its vaccine rollout and booster program over the winter months.
Australian State Unveils Vaccine Passport (3:56 p.m. HK)
Australia’s most-populous state unveiled a digital app to show the vaccination status of adults, as its prepares to scale back stay-at-home measures next month for people who are fully vaccinated.
Singapore Scaling Up Covid Operations (2:57 p.m. HK)
Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said the country is doing its best to expand its Covid-19 management operations to cope with the growing number of infections.
The group, which administers the process for Covid patients from detection to recovery, have a “very demanding task,” Lee said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, acknowledging strains in the system where authorities have taken a long time to contact people after they test positive.
Lee’s comments come amid a spike in cases in the country, where there have been 1,000 new cases in three out of the past four days.
India to Let Kids Get Shots: Reuters (2:54 p.m. HK)
India will open Covid-19 vaccinations for kids ages 12 and older in October when Cadila Healthcare launches its ZyCov-D product, Reuters reported, citing two unidentified people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The DNA-based vaccine got emergency authorization from Indian regulators last month and is the only one approved for children in the country.
Germany Sees End to Pandemic in Spring 2022 (1:29 p.m. HK)
German Health Minister Jens Spahn predicted that the pandemic will be over by next spring once so-called herd immunity has been achieved.
“As long as no new virus variant emerges against which a vaccination has no effect — which is very unlikely — then we will have overcome the pandemic in the spring and can return to normal,” Spahn said in an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
South Africa’s Daily Vaccination Rate Sinks (1:27 p.m. HK)
South Africa’s daily Covid-19 vaccination rate plunged this week, indicating that the inoculation drive may be losing steam amid criticism of a lack of information about the shots among more remote and impoverished communities.
On Sept. 20 just 159,542 doses were administered, the lowest amount on a week day since Aug. 13, when 147,307 vaccinations were given, according to government statistics. That’s short of the government’s yet-to-be attained target of 300,000 doses a day and also the lowest since 18-to-35 year-olds became eligible for the shots on Sept. 1.
Australia Borders to Be Open by Christmas (12:42 p.m. HK)
Australia plans to open its international border by Christmas at the latest, unwinding one of the world’s strictest controls on overseas travel since the pandemic began.
Australians will be able to travel abroad, with no restrictions on the destination, once the vaccination rate in their respective home state hits 80%, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said at a National Press Club of Australia event Wednesday.
China’s Harbin Finds Five More Cases (12:37 p.m. HK)
Five more Covid-19 cases have been found in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin on Wednesday, bringing the total case count to eight since the first case was found on Tuesday.
The city of 10 million people is rolling out virus testing to all of its residents and will suspend vaccinations for three days. In Bayan county, where most of the cases were found, local authorities have suspended public transportation on Wednesday.Meanwhile, a cluster in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian appears to be easing, with only 13 cases reported on Wednesday, compared with a few dozen in the past few days. More than 400 infections have been found in the province, a manufacturing hub for electronic components, shoes and clothing, and a trade gateway with Taiwan across the strait.
South Korea Offers Vietnam 1 Million Doses (12:21 p.m. HK)
South Korea is offering Vietnam more than 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, with delivery expected in October, news website Zing reported, citing President Moon Jae-In during a New York City meeting with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Moon said South Korea aims for $100 billion bilateral trade between the two countries in 2023 and an increase in cooperation in digital economy, biological products, financial sectors, the newspaper Thanh Nien reported, citing information from the same meeting.
Thailand Cases Rise for First Time in Five Days (11:00 a.m. HK)
Thailand reported 11,252 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the first daily increase since Sept. 17, according to government data Wednesday. The country is set to reopen more of its popular tourist destinations starting next month.
New Zealand Still Aiming for Zero Covid Cases (10:55 a.m. HK)
New Zealand Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the country is “not giving up on getting back down to zero, that is exactly why Auckland is still at Alert Level 3.”
Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Monday that New Zealand may not get back to zero cases of Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean the country has abandoned its elimination strategy. That means trying to stamp out the virus whenever it is found, Bloomfield told Radio New Zealand.
Auckland, the largest city, has been in lockdown for five weeks and won’t exit for at least another two, while social distancing and mask-wearing requirements are in place for the rest of the country. Although a handful of new cases continue to be reported daily, health officials are on top of the current outbreak and are aiming to get the vaccination rate over 90% so that restrictions can be eased, Bloomfield said.
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