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January
Australia's New South Wales tightens restrictions as COVID-19 cluster expands
Written by nuke
Australia's New South Wales tightens restrictions as COVID-19 cluster expands - Menafn.com
Australia's most populous state of New South Wales on Saturday (Jan 2) made masks compulsory and imposed new restrictions as its coronavirus cluster expanded by seven, while neighbouring Victoria recorded 10 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian banned dancing and singing at night clubs while restricting numbers at gym classes, weddings, funerals and places of worship. However, the five-day Cricket test match between Australia and India, scheduled to begin on Thursday, will go ahead with attendance at 50 per cent capacity.
"We consider health and safety first and foremost, but we also need to think about well-being and jobs and the economy," Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
"And that's why by putting these measures and settings in place we are confident we can continue to increase and encourage economic activity, give confidence to business and jobs, but also, of course, keep the virus at bay."
NSW, which has close to 200 active COVID-19 cases, will levy a A$200 (US$154) fine for not wearing a mask with the rule being enforced from Monday. Authorities on Saturday said genomic sequencing showed the Victoria outbreak was directly linked to the NSW cluster, vindicating the decision to shut borders.
"As a result of the learnings that we have gone through, we’ve taken the view that the responses we have put in place are proportionate and fair. Victorians have a lot at stake here," Victorian health minister Martin Foley said.
South Australia state recorded another day of zero cases while Tasmania, which is COVID free, banned visitors from parts of Victoria. Queenslanders were urged to reassess travel plans to NSW and Victoria//CNA
January
Bangkok to close schools for two weeks as number of COVID-19 cases rise
Written by nuke
Bangkok to close schools for two weeks as number of COVID-19 cases rise - Bangkok Post
The Thai capital of Bangkok will close all schools for two weeks after the New Year holiday as it tightens measures to control a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the city said on Friday. Thailand confirmed 279 new coronavirus cases on Friday, with the majority of them linked to a cluster among migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province south of Bangkok, and another cluster linked to illegal gambling dens that started in the eastern province of Rayong. These new clusters have started to spread into Bangkok, prompting the city's administrator to tighten measures to curb the spread of the virus.
"We begin to detect new cases linked to students and other service businesses," said Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, the spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
"Therefore we decided to close more places," he said. All schools, daycare centers for the young and elderly, preschool and tutorial centers will be close from Jan.4 to 17 while other public facilities including amusement parks, playgrounds, public baths and massage parlors will be closed starting from Saturday, he said.
Pongsakorn also said the city is considering restrictions on eating-in at restaurants but said that more discussions were needed with the government COVID-19 taskforce on Saturday. Thailand recorded two new deaths from coronavirus on Friday, taking the total number of infections to 7,163 and the number of deaths to 63 since the outbreak started last January. The majority of the new cases resulted from local transmission of the disease while six were imported from abroad, the government COVID-19 taskforce said//JP
December
Indonesia says $9.8 billion EV battery MOU agreed with LG Energy Solution
Written by Nur YasminIndonesia and a unit of South Korean firm LG Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a $9.8 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery investment deal, the head of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board said on Wednesday.
The deal was signed on Dec. 18 and includes investments across the EV supply chain, the board head, Bahlil Lahadalia, told a news conference.
An official at LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, confirmed it had agreed an MOU but could not provide details or the deal’s value. LG Group in Seoul referred Reuters to its affiliate.
Bahlil said the agreement made Indonesia the first country in the world to integrate the electric battery industry from mining to producing electric car lithium batteries.
“We have signed an MOU for the construction of an integrated electric battery factory from upstream to downstream,” Bahlil said.
“Mines, smelters, precursors, cathodes, cars to recycling facilities will be built in Indonesia,” he said, adding that the project will be located in North Maluku and Central Java.
Under the MOU, at least 70% of the nickel ore used to produce the EV batteries must be processed in Indonesia, he said.
Indonesia aims to start processing its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries as part of a bid to eventually become a global hub for producing and exporting EVs.
Indonesia said earlier this month that U.S. automaker Tesla, will send delegations to Indonesia in January to discuss potential investment in a supply chain for its electric vehicles. (reuters)
Indonesia and a unit of South Korean firm LG Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a $9.8 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery investment deal, the head of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board said on Wednesday.
The deal was signed on Dec. 18 and includes investments across the EV supply chain, the board head, Bahlil Lahadalia, told a news conference.
An official at LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, confirmed it had agreed an MOU but could not provide details or the deal’s value. LG Group in Seoul referred Reuters to its affiliate.
Bahlil said the agreement made Indonesia the first country in the world to integrate the electric battery industry from mining to producing electric car lithium batteries.
“We have signed an MOU for the construction of an integrated electric battery factory from upstream to downstream,” Bahlil said.
“Mines, smelters, precursors, cathodes, cars to recycling facilities will be built in Indonesia,” he said, adding that the project will be located in North Maluku and Central Java.
Under the MOU, at least 70% of the nickel ore used to produce the EV batteries must be processed in Indonesia, he said.
Indonesia aims to start processing its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries as part of a bid to eventually become a global hub for producing and exporting EVs.
Indonesia said earlier this month that U.S. automaker Tesla, will send delegations to Indonesia in January to discuss potential investment in a supply chain for its electric vehicles.
December
China gives its first COVID-19 vaccine approval to Sinopharm
Written by Nur YasminChina approved its first COVID-19 vaccine for general public use on Thursday, a shot developed by an affiliate of state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, as it braces for greater transmission risks over the winter.
No detailed efficacy data of the vaccine has been publicly released but its developer, Beijing Biological Products Institute, a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group (CNBG), said on Wednesday its vaccine was 79.34% effective in preventing people from developing the disease based on interim data.
The approval, announced by the National Medical Products Administration, comes after the United Arab Emirates this month became the first country to roll out the vaccine to the public, and as Pakistan announced a 1.2 million dose purchase deal with Sinopharm.
While China has been slower than several other countries in approving COVID-19 vaccines, it has been inoculating some citizens for months with three different shots still undergoing late-stage trials.
China launched an emergency use programme in July aimed at essential workers and others at high risk of infection, had administered more than 4.5 million doses as of Dec. 15 using at least three different products - two developed by CNBG and one by Sinovac Biotech.
While the efficacy of the Sinopharm shot trails the more than 90% success rate of rival vaccines from Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc, it points to progress China has made in the global race to develop successful COVID-19 vaccines.
China has at least five vaccines, developed by Sinovac, CNBG units, CanSino Biologics and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in late stage trials, underscoring its efforts to develop a homegrown vaccine to challenge Western rivals.
President Xi Jinping has pledged to make China’s vaccines a global public good and it has won several large supply deals with countries including Indonesia and Brazil - the most populous countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America respectively.
WATCHING THE DATA
The efficacy and safety data of China-made vaccines is being closely watched by many developing countries as they have limited early access to shots developed by Western drug makers and are looking for alternatives from China and Russia.
“China’s approval could boost the credibility of the vaccine,” said Dong-yan Jin, a professor at the University of Hong Kong.
“But if the vaccine wants to take a share in the global market, especially in developed countries, more data is necessary.”
A Sinopharm executive told a briefing detailed data would be released later and published in scientific journals at home and abroad.
While China has kept new outbreaks of the coronavirus under control, it is ramping up the emergency programme to contain the risks over the winter. The virus emerged a year ago in a market in the central city of Wuhan.
The South China Morning Post newspaper reported that China would vaccinate as many as 50 million people from high-priority groups before the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
“We call on people ... to take an active part in vaccination to protect themselves, family members and others, which is also contributing to global epidemic control,” Zeng Yixin, an official with National Health Commission, told a briefing on Thursday.
The price of the vaccine would depend on the scale of use, but the “premise” was that it would be free for the public in China, he said.
The approval comes as Britain on Wednesday approved a second COVID-19 vaccine, a shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, as it battles a major winter surge driven by a new variant of the virus. (Reuters)
December
Second earthquake in two days strikes central Croatia, killing seven and damaging buildings
Written by Nur YasminAn earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck central Croatia on Tuesday, killing seven people, injuring more than 20 and rattling several neighbouring countries, officials and residents said.
Rescuers pulled people from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Petrinja and other towns, and army troops were sent to the area to help.
Tremors were also felt in Croatia’s capital Zagreb and as far away as Austria’s capital Vienna. Slovenia shut its only nuclear power plant as a precaution.
It was the second quake to strike the area in two days.
The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said it hit at 1119 GMT at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), with the epicentre in Petrinja, 50 km south of Zagreb.
“By now, in the vicinity of the town of Glina we have five fatalities. Together with a (12-year-old) girl from Petrinja there are altogether six dead,” Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved said while visiting Glina.
State news agency Hina, citing firefighters, later reported that a seventh victim had been found in the rubble of a church in the village of Zazina.
Police said at least 20 people were slightly injured and six more severely wounded in the temblor.
“The search through the rubble is continuing,” police said in a statement.
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Throughout the day many aftershocks occurred measuring 3.0 magnitude or slightly stronger.
Tomislav Fabijanic, head of emergency medical services in Sisak, said many people were wounded in Petrinja and Sisak and their injuries included fractures and concussions.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who rushed to Petrinja, said: “The army is here to help. We will have to move some people from Petrinja because it is unsafe to be here.”
The head of the hospital in Sisak said later it was treating 20 people, two with severe injuries.
The N1 television station showed footage of rescuers in Petrinja pulling a man and a child alive from the debris. Other footage showed a house with its roof caved in. The N1 reporter said she did not know if anyone was inside.
N1 also said a kindergarten was destroyed in the quake but that there were no children in it at the time.
Piles of stone, brick and tiles littered Petrinja’s streets in the aftermath of the quake, and cars parked in the road were smashed by falling debris.
A worker who had been fixing a roof in a village outside Petrinja told N1 that the quake threw him to the ground. Nine of the 10 houses in the village were destroyed, he said.
WRAPPED IN BLANKETS
The quake was also felt in Zagreb, where people rushed onto the streets, some of which were strewn with broken roof tiles and other debris.
Patients and medical staff were evacuated from Zagreb’s Sveti Duh Hospital, with many left sitting in chairs in the street wrapped in blankets.
In Austria’s second city Graz, about 200 km (130 miles) north of Petrinja, tall buildings wobbled for about two minutes, according to broadcaster ORF. In Carinthia province, about 300 km to the northwest of Petrinja, the earth trembled for several minutes and people described how their furniture, Christmas trees and lamps wobbled.
In Slovenia, the STA news agency said the country’s sole nuclear power plant, 100 km (60 miles) from the epicentre, was shut down as a precaution.
Croatia’s state news agency Hina said the quake was felt in a total of 12 countries.
Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said Croatia was expecting help from the European Union as it had activated its emergency situation mechanism.
A day earlier on Monday, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit central Croatia, also near Petrinja.
In March, a temblor of magnitude 5.3 rattled Zagreb, causing one death and injuring 27 people. (reuters)
December
Singapore begins rollout of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine with healthcare workers
Written by Nur YasminA 46-year-old nurse became the first person in Singapore to receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, making the city-state among the first Asian countries to begin an inoculation campaign against the coronavirus.
Sarah Lim, a senior staff nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, was the first of more than 30 staff at the centre who are being vaccinated on Wednesday, the health ministry said. They will return for the second dose of the vaccine on Jan. 20.
“I feel very grateful and thankful for being the first to be vaccinated in Singapore,” said Lim, who helps screen suspected COVID-19 cases. In recorded remarks provided by the health ministry, she said she hoped to encourage others to get vaccinated.
Singapore is the first country in Asia to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It has also signed advance purchase agreements and made early down payments on several other vaccine candidates, including those being developed by Moderna and Sinovac.
It expects to have enough vaccine doses for all 5.7 million people by the third quarter of 2021.
Singapore acted swiftly after the first cases of the virus were reported and although it was blindsided by tens of thousands of cases in migrant workers dormitories, it has reported just a handful of new cases over the last two months. The country has one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 fatality rates; only 29 people have died of the virus.
To show the vaccine is safe, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68, said he and his colleagues would be among the early recipients of the shots. They will be free and voluntary, but the government is encouraging all medically eligible residents to take them.
China is inoculating specific groups of people considered at high risk of infection, such as medical workers and border inspectors, under an emergency use programme started in July. Its vaccines are still in late-stage clinical trials.
In Japan and South Korea, the U.S military has begun its first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations, prioritising frontline medical workers.
Some Philippine soldiers and cabinet ministers have already received COVID-19 vaccine injections even before regulatory approval. (reuters)
December
Philippines prolongs partial coronavirus curbs in Manila to Jan 31
Written by Nur YasminPhilippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday extended partial coronavirus restrictions in the capital, Manila, until the end of January to prevent the spread of COVID-19 following Christmas and holiday festivities.
The capital region, which accounts for 40% of the country’s economic output and is home to at least 12 million people, remains the coronavirus hotspot in the Philippines, which has the second highest infections and deaths in Southeast Asia.
In a national address, Duterte placed the capital region, his hometown Davao City and eight other areas under partial quarantine measures for the entirety of January. Less stringent restrictions will be enforced for the rest of the country.
“Stay home if it is really possible, if you can. It is for your own good,” Duterte said.
Interior Minister Eduardo Ano said on Monday there was no need to return to a hard lockdown as long as there was no proof that the new COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom had entered the country.
The capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities fused together, has been under partial curbs since August.
Physical distancing is enforced on public transport, and face masks and shields are required for anyone stepping out of their homes. Most businesses, including dine-in services, have been allowed to reopen at reduced capacity to support the economy.
Healthcare workers are bracing for a surge in infections following holiday merrymaking. The Philippines has 470,650 cases and 9,124 deaths from COVID-19, with around a thousand new infections reported daily.
The Southeast Asian nation is also preparing for the new, more transmissible COVID-19 variant which has been found in Britain and has rattled global financial markets, by extending a flight ban from Britain until mid-January.
It also requires passengers that come from or have transited in Britain and other countries that have reported finding the new variant to complete a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, regardless of test results. (reuters)
December
South Korea to get Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for 20 million people -Yonhap
Written by Nur YasminSouth Korea on Tuesday said it will sign a deal with Moderna Inc to offer COVID-19 vaccines for 20 million people, Yonhap news agency reported citing the presidential office.
This comes a day after officials vowed to speed up efforts to launch a public coronavirus vaccination programme as the country detected its first cases of the virus variant linked to the rapid rise in infections in Britain. (reuters)
December
Europe rolls out 'new weapon' vaccines in bid to slay COVID
Written by Nur YasminEurope launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday with pensioners and medics lining up to get the first shots to see off a pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives worldwide.
“Thank God,” 96-year-old Araceli Hidalgo said as she became the first person in Spain to have a vaccine at her care home in Guadalajara, near the capital Madrid.
“Let’s see if we can make this virus go away.”
In Italy, the first country in Europe to record significant numbers of infections, 29-year-old nurse Claudia Alivernini was one of three medical staff at the head of the queue for the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
“It is the beginning of the end ... it was an exciting, historic moment,” she said at Rome’s Spallanzani hospital.
The region of 450 million people is trying to catch up with the United States and Britain, which have already started vaccinations using the Pfizer shot.
The European Union is due to receive 12.5 million doses by the end of the year, enough to vaccinate 6.25 million people based on the two-dose regimen. The companies are scrambling to meet global demand and aim to make 1.3 billion shots next year.
The bloc has secured contracts with a range of drugmakers besides Pfizer, including Moderna and AstraZeneca, for a total of more than two billion vaccine doses and has set a goal for all adults to be inoculated during 2021.
With surveys pointing to high levels of hesitancy towards the vaccine in countries from France to Poland, leaders of the 27-country European Union are promoting it as the best chance of getting back to something like normal life next year.
“We have a new weapon against the virus: the vaccine. We must stand firm, once more,” tweeted French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for the coronavirus this month and left quarantine on Christmas Eve.
But Ireneusz Sikorski, 41, leaving church in the Polish capital of Warsaw, was sceptical.
“I don’t think there’s a vaccine in history that has been tested so quickly,” he said. “I am not saying vaccination shouldn’t be taking place. But I am not going to test an unverified vaccine on my children, or on myself.” (Reuters)
December
South Korea to accelerate virus vaccine efforts as first U.K. variant detected
Written by Nur YasminSouth Korean officials are vowing to speed up efforts to launch a public coronavirus vaccination programme as the country on Monday announced it had detected its first cases of the virus variant linked to the rapid rise in infections in Britain.
The new variant, thought to be more transmissible than others currently circulating, was found in three people who had entered South Korea from London on Dec. 22, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday.
Overall the KDCA reported 808 new cases as of midnight Sunday, the lowest since a record 1,241 infections were logged on Friday.
Authorities cautioned that the drop may be due to less testing done over the weekend and the Christmas holiday, and said on Sunday they would be extending social distancing measures until early January.
South Korea’s government has faced mounting domestic criticism over its vaccine procurement and rollout plans, which call for the first vaccinations to begin in the first quarter of next year, months after places such as the United States and the European Union.
Negative views of the vaccine plans was one of the leading reasons that drove President Moon Jae-in’s disapproval rating to an all-time high of nearly 60%, pollster Realmeter said on Monday.
Regulators will shorten the period required to approve vaccines and treatments from and average of 180 days to as little as 40 days, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on Sunday.
An additional approval process for the distribution and sale of vaccines, which usually takes several months, will be shortened to around 20 days, the ministry said.
Medical workers and elderly residents will begin receiving the vaccinations in February, and plans to vaccinate the broader public is accelerating, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min said Sunday.
“The government is doing all it can to advance this time frame and is also making progress,” he said.
South Korea has said it plans to buy enough doses to eventually vaccinate 46 million people, or more than 85% of its population.
Noh said authorities expected South Korea’s population to reach a level of herd immunity through the vaccines as fast or faster than many other countries.
South Korea has reported a total of 57,680 coronavirus cases, with 819 deaths. (Reuters)
