(Bloomberg) — Japan is set to lift a state of emergency across the whole country at the end of September as new infections recede.
U.S. President Joe Biden received a booster shot Monday and said he’d press for more vaccination mandates to improve the U.S. inoculation rate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also said he had received a booster. New York City may begin to bar thousands of unvaccinated school personnel from their jobs after a court ruling.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisories for Hong Kong and Singapore by one notch each. Hong Kong has a moderate level of Covid-19, the agency said, while the level is high in Singapore, where all travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading variants.
Key Developments:
- Global Virus Tracker: Cases pass 232 million; deaths exceed 4.75 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 6.17 billion shots given
- Biden gets Covid booster and says he wants more vaccine mandates
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
Bangladesh Receives Vaccine Doses From U.S. (1:08 p.m. HK)
Bangladesh received 2.5 million Pfizer vaccine doses from the U.S. on Tuesday under the Covax facility, as the South Asian nation speeds up its inoculation drive.
That brings the total U.S. vaccine donations to 9 million, with “more on the way very soon,” American Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller tweeted.
Bangladesh started a daylong drive Tuesday to vaccinate as many as 7.5 million people to coincide with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s birthday.
Philippines to Open Vaccinations to General Public (1:02 p.m. HK)
The Philippines will allow the general public to get vaccines starting next month, after initially prioritizing health and essential workers, the elderly and the poor.
The government is also expecting to begin inoculations for minors in October as vaccine supply stabilizes. President Rodrigo Duterte wants to require government employyees to get vaccinated, telling those who don’t want Covid-19 shots to find other jobs, spokesman Harry Roque said.
Hong Kong’s ‘Hands Are Tied’ on Covid Rules, Top Adviser Says (12 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong is stuck between China’s zero-tolerance approach to the coronavirus and the west’s reopening, and it has no clear idea how to satisfy Beijing’s demands so cross-border travel can resume, a top adviser to the city’s leader says.
Officials in the Asian financial hub can’t loosen some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 rules, despite their chilling effect on international business and travel, because the city is prioritizing reopening the border with China, says Bernard Chan, a financier who is also the convenor of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s advisory Executive Council.
“Our hands are tied,” Chan said. “You have to meet their standards, and the trouble right now is — we’re not so sure,” he added. “Initially, they were suggesting: ‘Oh, you need to have no cases for so many days.’ But now there’s no mention of that anymore.”
South Korea May Relax Social Rules for Vaccinated People (11:34 a.m. HK)
South Korea is considerating easing social distancing rules for fully vaccinated people from the end of October or early November, when 80% of adults and 90% of the elderly complete their vaccinations, according to Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol.
It’s very difficult to maintain current strong social distancing rules, given that small merchants have been hit by Covid-19 and people are growing tired of prolonged distancing rules, the minister said. The country is considering easing rules on private gatherings and use of facilities for fully vaccinated people
Australia Introduces Home Testing (10:34 a.m. HK)
Australia will introduce at-home testing for Covid-19 from Nov. 1, as cases in Victoria surged past those in New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, for the first time since July.
Regulatory agency Therapeutic Goods Administration recommended the at-home testing, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Tuesday. Some 76.7% of Australians have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine, he added.
Thailand’s New Covid Cases Drop Below 10,000 (9:01 a.m. HK)
Thailand reports 9,489 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily tally since July 15, as the government plans to reopen borders and relax curbs on businesses.
The coutry will halve its mandatory quarantine to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors starting next month, and will remove any isolation period for such travelers in 10 key provinces including Bangkok in November to help revive its tourism-dependent economy.
Japan to Lift Emergency As Virus Cases Plummet (8:12 a.m. HK)
The state of emergency in Tokyo is being lifted for the first time in more than two months, as new cases in Japan fell to 2,129 on Sunday compared with levels above 25,000 in mid-August.
The country’s vaccination program has also proceeded steadily, with more than 57% of the population fully immunized, putting Japan just ahead of the U.S. Restrictions on restaurants and bars will be gradually lifted, Suga told reporters Monday.
New York School Vaccine Mandate Ban Lifted in Surprise Ruling (8:19 a.m. HK)
In a surprise ruling, a three-judge federal appellate court panel in New York lifted a temporary injunction against a vaccine mandate, paving the way for the city to bar thousands of unvaccinated school personnel from their jobs.
The court gave no reasons for the decision, other than saying the injunction that had been entered Friday was “for administrative purposes.” The practical effect is that the largest school district in the U.S. may now insist that all school employees and contractors be vaccinated.
Younger Children Less Willing to Get Vaccinated, Oxford Study Shows (6:30 a.m. HK)
The younger a child is, the less likely they are to want the coronavirus vaccine, according to a new survey of students aged nine-to-18 published in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine.
The OxWell School Survey 2021 found that only 36% of nine-year-olds were willing to take the vaccine compared to 51% of 13-year-olds and 78% of 17-year-olds. Researchers found that those less willing to take the vaccine came from the most socioeconomically-deprived backgrounds, felt less belonging to their school communities and thought they had the virus already.
“Younger children more often defer to their parents, or primary caregivers, for decisions about health care and vaccination, but our data shows how important it is for good quality, accessible information to be provided to better enable our younger populations to understand more about the Covid-19 vaccine and its effects,” said Mina Fazel, an associate professor at the University of Oxford.
United Airlines Notches 98.5% Vaccination Rate (3:39 p.m. NY)
United Airlines Holdings Inc. said 98.5% of its U.S.-based employees have been vaccinated and expects the figure to exceed 99% in its final tally of compliance with its mandate. The carrier had set a Monday deadline for all U.S.-based workers to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or an initial dose of a two-shot vaccine. Failure to comply could result in termination.
U.S. Boosts Travel Warnings for HK, Singapore (3:06 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its travel advisories for Hong Kong and Singapore by one notch each. Hong Kong has a moderate level of Covid-19, the agency said, while Singapore’s is high.
Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to Singapore, where all travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading variants, the CDC said.
Biden Gets Booster, Presses for Mandates (1:57 p.m. NY)
Biden received a booster shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and said he would press for more vaccination mandates to improve the inoculation rate.
Americans who have refused to be vaccinated are causing “an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country,” he said at the White House. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That’s why I’m moving forward with vaccination mandates wherever I can.”
Biden, 78, meets federal guidelines that those over age 65 get a third shot. The president received his second in January, putting him well past the six-month threshold for getting another.
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