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December
Dubai to begin inoculations with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from Wednesday
Written by Nur YasminDubai will start inoculating people with the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech for free from Wednesday, the government said, joining Saudi Arabia which last week became the first Arab country to begin using this vaccine.
The move comes after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain earlier this month rolled out a vaccine by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to the general public.
The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention registered the Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for emergency use on the request of Pfizer, state news agency WAM reported, citing the ministry.
The UAE was the first country outside China to roll out the Chinese vaccine to the public, saying earlier this month it had 86% efficacy, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
China has included two candidate vaccines from Sinopharm and one from Sinovac Biotech Ltd in an emergency-use programme launched in July, targeting specific high-infection risk groups such as medical workers and border inspectors.
Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said on Twitter late Tuesday an “extensive vaccination campaign” against COVID-19 would kick off on Wednesday using Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.
A message on Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) hotline said the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine would be for citizens and Dubai residents 60 years and above, and for individuals with chronic illness over the age of 18.
The second category would comprise front-line staff in public and private sectors, third would be vital-sector workers, and finally, the general public, WAM cited DHA as saying.
Dubai, the financial hub of the UAE, has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, which hurt its key tourism, real estate and trade sectors.
S&P Global warned earlier this year Dubai’s economy was set to shrink 11% in 2020, almost four times the drop in GDP experienced during the global financial crisis in 2009.
Qatar has also granted emergency use authorisation for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, while Oman will receive its first shipment of the same vaccine on Wednesday.
Qatar started the free vaccination drive on Wednesday, Qatari media reported.
Kuwait received 150,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday and expects to receive about 450,000 doses of it in the first quarter, Ghada Ibrahim, head of public relations at the ministry health, said in a video on Twitter.
UAE has recorded 195,878 coronavirus cases and 642 deaths so far from the virus. (Reuters)
December
Coronavirus reaches end of earth as first outbreak hits Antarctica
Written by Nur YasminThe coronavirus has landed in Antarctica, the last continent previously free from COVID-19, Chile’s military said this week, as health and army officials scrambled to clear out and quarantine staff from a remote research station surrounded by ocean and icebergs.
Chile’s armed forces said at least 36 people had been infected at its Bernardo O’Higgins base, including 26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors conducting maintenance at the base.
The permanently staffed research station, operated by Chile’s army, lies near the tip of a peninsula in northernmost Antarctica, overlooking a bay often dotted with icebergs.
Base personnel “are already properly isolated and constantly monitored” by health authorities in Magallanes, in Chilean Patagonia, the army said, adding there had so far been no complications.
Research and military stations in Antarctica - among the most remote in the world - had gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to keep the virus out, canceling tourism, scaling back activities and staff, and locking down facilities.
Researchers with the British Antarctic Survey estimate about 1,000 people at 38 stations across the frozen continent had safely navigated the southern hemisphere winter without incident. But an uptick in travel to and from the region this spring and early summer have heightened infection risk.
An Army press officer said the first COVID-19 cases had been reported in mid-December, when two soldiers fell ill.
The Magallanes region, one of the closest populated areas to Antarctica and take-off point for many boats and planes headed to the continent, is among the hardest-hit in Chile.
Much of the area, blasted by cold winds off the ocean, mountains, and glaciers, has been under quarantine restrictions for months.
Chile’s Navy reported it too had detected three cases of COVID-19 among 208 crew members of a ship that had sailed in the Antarctic region between Nov. 27 and Dec. 10. (reuters)
December
'Good riddance,' China says as Germany leaves U.N. Security Council
Written by Nur YasminGermany’s U.N. envoy, during his last scheduled U.N. Security Council meeting, appealed to China to free two detained Canadians for Christmas, prompting China’s deputy U.N. envoy to respond: “Out of the bottom of my heart: Good riddance.”
Germany finishes a two-year term on the 15-member council at the end of this month and Ambassador Christoph Heusgen plans to retire after more than 40 years as a diplomat.
“Let me end my tenure on the Security Council by appealing to my Chinese colleagues to ask Beijing for the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Christmas is the right moment for such a gesture,” Heusgen told the council session, whose official agenda topic was Iran.
Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who was working as an adviser for the International Crisis Group think tank, and businessman Spavor were detained by Beijing in 2018 shortly after Canadian police picked up Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. warrant.
China’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Geng Shuang, accused Heusgen of abusing the Security Council to launch “malicious” attacks on other members “in an attempt to poison the working atmosphere”.
“I wish to say something out of the bottom of my heart: Good riddance, Ambassador Heusgen,” Geng said. “I am hoping that the council in your absence in the year 2021 will be in a better position to fulfill the responsibilities...for maintaining international peace and security.”
Heusgen also used the Security Council meeting to advise Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, to read certain articles about Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who said he had tricked a Russian secret agent into disclosing details of a botched plot to kill him. Russia’s FSB security service dismissed the recording as a fake.
Polyanskiy replied: “It seems he’s developed a certain dependency on the council, there’s never a meeting without criticism of Russia even if that’s not suitable for the subject matter. I hope that after Jan. 1 that Christoph’s symptoms will improve.” (reuters)
December
WHO members to meet on Wednesday on new virus variant
Written by Nur YasminThe World Health Organization (WHO) has called a meeting of members for Wednesday to discuss strategies to counter a new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.
A spokeswoman said the meeting was designed to help with information-sharing.
“Limiting travel to contain spread is prudent until we have better info,” Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, tweeted.
However, the Geneva-based body has cautioned against major alarm over the variant, saying it is a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution and praising Britain for detecting it.
As trucks barred from entering France backed up along miles of motorway in southern England, the WHO also said in a statement that cargo transport for essential supplies such as food, medicines, and fuel should be prioritized and facilitated.
“Supply chains for essential goods & essential travel should remain possible,” Kluge tweeted.
Drugmakers including BioNTech and Moderna are scrambling to test their COVID-19 vaccines against the new variant.
The WHO repeated that there was not yet enough information to determine whether the new variant could affect vaccine efficacy. (reuters)
December
WHO says no need for major alarm over new coronavirus strain
Written by Nur YasminThe World Health Organization cautioned against major alarm over a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution.
WHO officials even put a positive light on the discovery of the new strains that prompted a slew of alarmed countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain and South Africa, saying new tools to track the virus were working.
“We have to find a balance. It’s very important to have transparency, it’s very important to tell the public the way it is, but it’s also important to get across that this is a normal part of virus evolution,” WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan told an online briefing.
“Being able to track a virus this closely, this carefully, this scientifically in real time is a real positive development for global public health, and the countries doing this type of surveillance should be commended.”
Citing data from Britain, WHO officials said they had no evidence that the variant made people sicker or was more deadly than existing strains of COVID-19, although it did seem to spread more easily.
Countries imposing travel curbs were acting out of an abundance of caution while they assess risks, Ryan said, adding: “That is prudent. But it is also important that everyone recognises that this happens, these variants occur.”
WHO officials said coronavirus mutations had so far been much slower than with influenza and that even the new UK variant remained much less transmissible than other diseases like mumps.
They said vaccines developed to combat COVID-19 should handle the new variants as well, although checks were under way to ensure this was the case.
“So far, even though we have seen a number of changes, a number of mutations, none has made a significant impact on either the susceptibility of the virus to any of the currently used therapeutics, drugs or the vaccines under development and one hopes that will continue to be the case,” WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the briefing.
The WHO said it expects to get more detail within days or weeks on the potential impact of the highly transmissible new coronavirus strain. (reuters)
December
BioNTech confident COVID-19 vaccine effective against new UK mutation
Written by Nur YasminBioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said on Monday he was confident a COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by his company would be effective against a variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.
He said on Bild TV that the German company would investigate the mutation in the coming days but that he viewed the matter with “with a degree of soberness”.
Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages in the United Kingdom.
Sahin was speaking shortly after the European Union cleared regulatory hurdles for the vaccine, co-developed with Pfizer, to be rolled out after Christmas.
The note of calm from the CEO about the UK mutation echoed the World Health Organization, which cautioned against major alarm, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution.
Sahin said he hadn’t yet been immunized but would like to be. He said it was more important that his employees get the vaccine so they can continue to do their jobs. (reuters)
BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said on Monday he was confident a COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by his company would be effective against a variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain.
He said on Bild TV that the German company would investigate the mutation in the coming days but that he viewed the matter with “with a degree of soberness”.
Countries across the globe shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages in the United Kingdom.
Sahin was speaking shortly after the European Union cleared regulatory hurdles for the vaccine, co-developed with Pfizer, to be rolled out after Christmas.
The note of calm from the CEO about the UK mutation echoed the World Health Organization, which cautioned against major alarm, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution.
Sahin said he hadn’t yet been immunized but would like to be. He said it was more important that his employees get the vaccine so they can continue to do their jobs.
December
Australia detects new UK strain, Hong Kong cancels Britain flights
Written by Nur YasminAustralia said on Monday it had detected cases of the new virulent coronavirus strain identified in the United Kingdom, while Hong Kong said it would suspend Britain flights.
Two travelers from the United Kingdom to Australia’s New South Wales state were found carrying the mutated variant of the virus that Britain has said could be up to 70% more infectious. Both are in quarantine, and the recent spike in infections in Sydney are not linked to this, authorities said.
The new strain has prompted Britain’s European neighbours and several others including Canada and Iran to close their doors to travellers from the country.
Much is unknown about the strain, but experts said current vaccines should still be effective against it.
Asian nations including Japan and South Korea said they were monitoring the new strain even as they battle a spike in infections at home.
Hong Kong became the first city in the region to ban flights from Britain in a bid to curb already rising case numbers in the dense financial hub.
The Chinese special administrative region said on Monday that people arriving from Britain before Dec. 22 would have to quarantine for three weeks instead of two.
South Korea, which imposes a 14-day quarantine on everyone entering the country, said it was reviewing new measures for flights from Britain, and would test twice those coming in from there before they were released from quarantine.
New cases climbed to over 1,000 a day in South Korea several times last week. It reported on Sunday an outbreak in a Seoul prison where 188 inmates and staff were infected. (reuters)
December
Oil prices fall amid worries over new coronavirus strain
Written by Nur YasminOil prices slid in early trade on Monday as a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain in the United Kingdom raised concerns that tighter restrictions there and in other European countries could stall a recovery in the global economy and its need for fuel.
Brent crude dropped 97 cents, or 1.9%, to $51.29 a barrel by 0103 GMT after rising 1.5% and touching its highest since March last Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 83 cents, or 1.7%, to $48.27 a barrel after also climbing 1.5% on Friday to its highest level since February.
Monday’s declines came after oil prices marked seven straight weeks of gains last week as investors focused on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
“A new variant of the coronavirus in Britain and tighter travel restrictions in Europe sparked fears over slower economic recovery, prompting investors to unwind long positions,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.
“The oil market has been on a bull trend in the past month or so, ignoring negative factors, amid an optimism that a widening vaccine rollout would revive global growth, but investors’ rosy expectations for 2021 have suddenly vanished,” Saito said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of freight in and out of Britain as COVID-19 cases surged by a record number for one day. The headache comes as Johnson also seeks to hammer out a final accord on Brexit.
The variant, which officials say is up to 70% more transmissible than the original, also prompted concerns about a wider spread, forcing several European countries to begin closing their doors to travellers from the United Kingdom.
The negative sentiment also overshadowed a weekend deal among U.S. congressional leaders for a $900 billion coronavirus aid package.
Adding to pressure, the oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by eight to 346 in the week to Dec. 18, the highest since May, Baker Hughes said on Friday, as producers keep returning to the wellpad with crude prices trading above $45 a barrel since late November. (Reuters)
December
Macron tests positive for COVID-19, European leaders rush for tests
Written by Nur YasminPresident Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, prompting a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days.
Macron, who will turn 43 on Monday, is running France remotely and has gone into quarantine at the presidential retreat of La Lanterne close to the Palace of Versailles, the presidency said.
A presidential official described Macron as tired and having a cough. His wife Brigitte tested negative but was also self-isolating, staying at the Elysee palace in central Paris.
In the early evening, Macron spoke to a conference on French foreign aid policy via video link. Dressed in a roll-neck sweater and suit jacket, the president sat behind a desk and wore a facemask, showing no visible sign of the illness.
“This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms,” Macron’s office said, declining to give further details of his condition or the symptoms he had.
Macron will cancel all upcoming trips including a Dec. 22 visit to Lebanon where he has led international efforts to resolve a deep-rooted political crisis.
Closer to home, Macron’s COVID-19 infection spurred other leaders to take their own tests.
Macron joined all but two of the European Union’s 27 leaders at a summit in Brussels late last week to discuss climate change, the EU budget and Turkey.
The presidential official said it was almost certain Macron was infected at the summit given the timing of his symptoms. (reuters)
December
South Korea and Indonesia sign deal to boost trade, investment
Written by Nur YasminSouth Korea and Indonesia on Friday signed an economic partnership agreement aimed at boosting investment and trade between the two countries, in areas ranging from automobiles to apparel, officials said.
South Korea is among Indonesia’s top ten trading partners and investors, but the economic relationship still did not reflect the true potential, Indonesian Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said at a signing ceremony broadcast online from Seoul.
Under the agreement, South Korea will eliminate more than 95% of its tariff lines and Indonesia eliminate over 92% and give preferential tariffs to support Korean investment, Indonesia’s trade ministry said in a statement.
The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) will not only impact industries such as automobiles but also technology, South Korea’s Industry Minister Sung Yoon-mo said.
“This CEPA will also facilitate exchanges of professionals in area such as science, technology, software and robotics, promoting cooperation in high-tech industry,” Sung said.
In 2019, trade between the two countries was worth $15.65 billion and between 2015-2019 South Korean companies invested nearly $7 billion in Indonesia, Indonesian trade ministry data showed.
Indonesia aimed to start implementing the deal next year, Minister Agus said.
Indonesia has been trying to encourage foreign investors including South Korean companies to invest in plants and components for electric vehicles to take advantage of the country’s rich nickel ore reserves, which are used to make batteries.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Chem Ltd are among South Korean companies reported to be considering investments in battery cell manufacturing in Indonesia. (reuters)
