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COVID-19 Around the World

Covid News at a glance

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1.  Covid spreading at Guangzhou

 

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou shut down a neighbourhood and ordered its residents to stay home Saturday for door-to-door coronavirus testing following an upsurge in infections that has rattled authorities.

Guangzhou, a business and industrial centre of 15 million people north of Hong Hong, has reported 20 new infections over the past week. The number is small compared with India’s thousands of daily cases but alarmed Chinese authorities who believed they had the disease under control.

The spread of infections was “fast and strong,” the official Global Times newspaper cited health authorities as saying.

Saturday’s order to stay home applied to residents of five streets in Liwan District in the city centre.

Outdoor markets, child care centres and entertainment venues were closed. Indoor restaurant dining was prohibited. Grade schools were told to stop in-person classes. People in parts of four nearby districts were ordered to limit outdoor activity.

The city government earlier ordered testing of hundreds of thousands of residents following the initial infections. The government said some 700,000 people had been tested by Wednesday.

Most of the latest infections in Guangzhou are believed to be linked to a 75-year-old woman who was found May 21 to have the variant first identified in India, state media say. Most of the others attended a dinner with her or live together.

 

2.  ‘Mega prizes’ from Qantas for COVID-19 vaccine recipients

 

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is calling for more Australian companies to come forward with perks and incentives encouraging the public to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The airline’s vaccine incentive program, which launches in July, will offer several deals including unlimited travel for a year for 10 lucky families.

“We are looking at giving 1000 points flight vouchers, credits and we are going to offer ten mega prizes, at least one for each state and territory, where a family of four get unlimited travel on the Qantas and Jetstar network, anywhere in the network for a year,” Mr Joyce

He also confirmed the airline is working with hotel business Accor Group, which will offer a million points and free accommodation to the winning families.

“We are trying our best to help with this rollout – it will be retrospective and will include anyone who has already been vaccinated and will apply to anybody that is vaccinated until the end of 2021,” he said.

The Qantas program aims to encourage more Australians to come forward to get the coronavirus vaccine and Mr Joyce said the more people who are out there leading by example, the better it will be for everyone.

Mr Joyce said Qantas still plans to resume international flights by the end of the year. (Getty)

 

3.  Heart problems with Covid-19 vaccine?

 

 

To date, no connection has been made between heart problems and the mRNA covid-19 vaccines, yet CDC in the US announces they are investigating to ensure patient safety.

The CDC Vaccine Safety Technical Working Group announced that the number of cases they are have captured in their monitoring system are not above the baseline they had set. The total number of patients that have developed myocarditis has not been reported but the CDC did notify the public that the condition is more common in younger males after they receive their second dose. The US health authority is taking these issues seriously because vaccines have been known to cause myocarditis. Additionally, with the vaccines being so new, it is important that the public trust that any possible issues are being investigated thoroughly.

This means that in light of the possible complication, the CDC believed the vaccines were safe enough for use in younger people. The CDC had this infomration available when it approved the Pfizer & BioNTech vaccine for those between the ages of twelve and fifteen earlier this month.

 The CDC is requesting the medical records of those who have experienced a case of Myocarditis to see if there are any other factors the patients have in common. The group also discussed  the need for “collaboration between infectious diseases, cardiology, and rheumatology specialists” to inform healthcare providers with guidance on how to diagnose, treat, and manage myocarditis.

 

 4.  Research shows vaccines protect life

 

 

New research has shown COVID-19 vaccines are highly protective against severe disease and death after a full course is administered.

The study by University of Florida researchers is yet to be peer-reviewed and published, but the data has been cross-checked with journal articles and media reports.

Overall, the vaccines averaged 85 per cent protection against COVID-linked disease and almost 100 per cent protection against severe disease.

But the researchers said new variants could challenge vaccine efficacy as protection against any disease varied in relation to any new variants.

 The researchers said they hope the study can help shape policy decisions around vaccinations and construct models for vaccine impact.

 

5.  Taiwan signs for up to 20 million COVID shots

 

/ Health Minister Chen Shih-chung

 

aiwan’s government has signed deals with two local companies to provide up to 20 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccines, the official Central News Agency said on Sunday, in a boost to the island’s pandemic fight.

The news comes days after the Chinese-claimed island blamed Beijing week for blocking a deal earlier this year for BioNTech vaccines, which China denies. 

After recording just a handful of daily infections for months, Taiwan is dealing with relatively large numbers of community transmissions, though infection rates are starting to fall.

It has only vaccinated around 1% of its more than 23 million people but has almost 30 million shots on order, from AstraZeneca Plc , Moderna Inc and two domestic firms. The Central News Agency said the government had on Friday signed deals with Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp and United Biomedical Inc for five million doses each, and had oral agreements for another five million each, for a total of 20 million shots.

However, neither shot has yet been formally approved for use and both are still undergoing tests, which Taiwan’s government says are going well. Earlier on Sunday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan has not given up hope of eventually getting COVID-19 vaccines from Germany’s BioNTech.

 

6.  India: vaccine quota to be 120 million after 79 million in May

 

 

Nearly 120 million vaccine doses will be available for the national Covid vaccination programme in June, as announced by the Union ministry of health and family welfare announced on Sunday.

Both companies supplying the jabs are looking at ramping up their production capacity to 110-120 million doses from the existing 75-80 million.

At least 60 million (60,960,000) doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be supplied to the states and Union territories for vaccination of the priority groups of health care workers, frontline workers and people aged 45 years and above as free supply from the central government channel. Apart from that, close to 59 million (58,610,000) vaccine doses will be available for direct procurement by the states and private hospitals.

 The allocation of supplies through the government of India channel to the states and Union territories is decided based on the consumption pattern, population, and vaccine wastage. The supply details are shared in advance for 15/30 days, to ensure better planning and delivery of vaccines.

 “The supplies are being fast ramped up by the manufactures, so more vaccine doses will be available in weeks to come. The doses need to be effectively distributed also at the state level keeping the current supply scenario in mind. The priority has to be covering the country’s high-risk population — health care, and frontline workers, and those above 45 years of age,” said a senior central government official, requesting anonymity.

 

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COVID-19 Around the World

Weekly news at a glance

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(Worldwide) Covid positive kids separated from parents in Shanghai

A hospital in Shanghai is sending COVID-positive children and parents to different quarantine facilities, an online debate has revealed. Unverified images of children, three-to-a-cot, being tended to by workers in hazmat suits circulated on the WeChat social media platform.

The centre accused of housing the children, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre in the city’s Jinshan district, took to the social media site to debunk the rumours, but in doing so confirmed the existence of the quarantine site.

It added it had organised for more paediatric workers and would strengthen communication with the children’s parents in the wake of criticism from parents whose children have been housed in the facility.

 

(Worldwide) U.S. drops COVID testing for air travelers

In one of the most anticipated travel developments this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is poised to lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the United States, CNN learned on Friday.

The measure has been in place since January 2021. The move is likely to encourage travelers around the world to plan a summer vacation in the States and encourage more US travelers to venture abroad knowing they’re less likely to get stranded overseas with a positive test. Air travel has been far from smooth this season so far.

 

(Worldwide) Face of Hospitality in the Post-Covid World

Studies show that consumer spending on discretionary items like travel, eating out, entertainment etc would stay low and focus would stay on the basics like groceries, internet and mobile services etc. This indicates that there is still time for the hospitality industry to reach its glory of the pre-pandemic times. Similarly, those businesses that depend on the travel and tourism sector are likely to suffer the lul.

Hotels depend heavily on the revenue they generate from business travelers. But, given the current scenario, that too will take time to recover. With the death of many organizations that funded such business travel, it is likely that about 5-10% of it would never return. This makes it imperative that the businesses keep a close watch on the trends that determine the future of the hospitality and tourism industry and plan accordingly.

 

(AUS) Tutors in high demand, but doubts on program for next year

The state government’s 480 million dollar coronavirus catch-up tutoring program has been compromised by teacher shortages, due to COVID and influenza. The program aimed to benefit all government and low-fee private schools in helping students whose learning stalled during the pandemic.

According to Andrew Dalgleish, president of the Victorian Principals Association, most schools were forced to replace sick staff with the tutors to take whole classes. Victorian government awaits a final report before considering if it will recommit to the program.

 

(AUS) COVID-19 vaccine booster available for at-risk children aged 12 to 15

Children aged 12 to 15 years, who are severely immunocompromised and children with a disability, are eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccine from this week. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended extending eligibility for the Pfizer booster to about 120-thousand children.

Those eligible must have received their second dose at least three months ago, be severely immunocompromised, have a disability, or complex health conditions which increase the risk of severe COVID-19. Children who are NOT considered at-risk, who have received two vaccine doses, are still considered to be well protected against severe disease.

 

(AUS) Free flu vaccinations for Victoria

Free flu vaccinations are available to anyone aged 6 months and over until 30 June. Everyone aged 6 months and older is recommended to get the flu vaccine, especially people aged 65 years and over, people at higher risk of serious illness of complications from flu, pregnant women and children under 5 years.

The COVID-19 vaccine does not protect you against flu, you still need to get the flu vaccine. The best protection for families and communities this winter is to get vaccinated against both flu and COVID-19.

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COVID-19 Around the World

Covid in North Korea

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Top North Korean officials discussed revising anti-epidemic restrictions on Sunday as they assessed the situation over the country’s first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak was “improving”, state media reported.

A politburo meeting guided by leader Kim Jong Un “made a positive evaluation of the pandemic situation being controlled and improved across the country and discussed the issues of continuously stabilising and improving the overall anti-epidemic situation,” said KCNA news agency.

North Korea reported no new deaths among fever patients for a second consecutive day, and said 89,500 more people showed fever symptoms on Sunday.

That is down from nearly 400,000 about 11 days ago.

The isolated country has been fighting an unprecedented COVID wave since declaring a state of emergency and imposing a nationwide lockdown this month, fuelling concerns about lack of vaccines, medical supplies and food.

Efforts to strengthen anti-epidemic measures were being taken across North Korea, including collecting rain water, examining virus-resistant medicines and setting up quarantine places, KCNA said.

Many outside experts say North Korea is clearly understating its fatality rate to prevent any political damage to Kim at home.

They say North Korea should have suffered many more deaths because its 26 million people are largely unvaccinated against COVID-19 and it lacks the capacity to treat patients with critical conditions.

Others suspect North Korea might have exaggerated its earlier fever cases to try to strengthen its internal control of its population.

Since its May 12 admission of the Omicron outbreak, North Korea has only been announcing the number of patients with feverish symptoms daily, but not those with COVID-19, apparently because of a shortage of test kits to confirm coronavirus cases in large numbers.

But many outside health experts view most of the reported fever cases as COVID-19, saying North Korean authorities would know how to distinguish the symptoms from fevers caused by other prevalent infectious diseases.

The outbreak has forced North Korea to impose a nationwide lockdown, isolate all work and residential units from one another and ban region-to-region movements.

The country still allows key agricultural, construction and other industrial activities, but the toughened restrictions have triggered worries about its food insecurity and a fragile economy already hit hard by pandemic-caused border shutdowns.

Some observers say North Korea will likely soon declare victory over COVID-19 and credit it to Kim’s leadership.

Yang Un-chul, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the North’s recently elevated restrictions must be dealing a serious blow to its coal, agricultural and other labour-intensive industrial sectors.

But he said those difficulties won’t likely develop to a level that threatens Mr Kim’s grip on power, as the COVID-19 outbreak and strengthened curbs have given him a chance to boost his control of his people.

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COVID-19 Around the World

Shanghai ease Covid isolation

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A partial reopening of stores and offices in Beijing on Sunday was welcomed by a weary populace and struggling shopkeepers eager for life to return to normal. Coupled with a gradual easing of restrictions in Shanghai, it signalled the worst was over in the twin outbreaks in China’s most prominent cities.

More people have been allowed out of their homes, and more businesses are permitted to reopen, although most residents remain largely confined to their housing compounds, with shops mainly limited to deliveries.

Restaurants remain closed in Beijing, except for takeout and delivery, and many people in Shanghai still can only go out with special passes and for a limited time period, even as the number of new cases has plummeted. Shanghai aims to essentially end its lockdown from Wednesday after relaxing restrictions over the past week. 

Shanghai officials urged continued vigilance, even though the vast majority of its 25 million residents live in areas that are in the lowest-risk “prevention” category.

“Wear masks in public, no gathering and keep social distance,” Shanghai Municipal Health Commission’s deputy director, Zhao Dandan, told a daily news conference.

China reports 362 new cases

On Friday, Shanghai’s suburban Fengxian district cancelled a requirement for residents to have a pass to go out.

The state-run Shanghai Securities News reported modest steps towards a return to normality for the financial sector, with the more-than-10,000 bankers and traders who have been living and working in their offices since the start of lockdown gradually returning home.

On Saturday, the country reported 362 daily COVID-19 cases, down from 444 a day earlier. In Beijing, new Friday infections fell to 24 from 29.

While Shanghai officials reported one community-level case in the Songjiang district, they expressed confidence in the steps they were taking to trace and control the infection chain.

“If these measures are implemented effectively, we can prevent a rebound of the epidemic, even if there are sporadic cases, so don’t worry,” Shanghai Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s deputy director, Sun Xiaodong, said.

Beijing officials say outbreak ‘effectively under control’

In Beijing, new cases have trended lower for six days, with no fresh infections outside of quarantine areas reported on Friday.

The outbreak that began on April 22 is “effectively under control”, a city government spokesman told a news conference.

Starting on Sunday, shopping malls, libraries, museums, theatres and gyms will be allowed to reopen — with limits on the numbers of people allowed — in the eight of Beijing’s 16 districts that have seen no community cases for seven consecutive days.

Two of the districts will end work-from-home rules, while public transportation will largely resume in three districts, including Chaoyang, the city’s largest.

While nationwide case numbers are improving, China’s strict adherence to its “zero-COVID” strategy has devastated the world’s second-largest economy and rattled global supply chains.

The lockdowns and other restrictions under China’s “zero-COVID” strategy have increasingly frustrated residents as they see other countries ease up and re-open their borders. 

Some have resisted and staged protests at apartment complexes and university dormitories, in an authoritarian country where people think twice about speaking out publicly because of possible repercussions.

Officials tend to err on the side of caution under a system that readily punishes them for lax enforcement if outbreaks flare up or come back.

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