Hong Kong Cases Top 52,000, Elderly Vaccine Drive: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong reported more than 52,000 confirmed virus cases Friday, as the financial hub grapples with its worst ever outbreak.

The city also announced 136 new deaths, with total fatalities in public hospitals in the current wave now more than 1,300. Most have been elderly people and the virus has spread to more than 750 care homes. Health authorities renewed their plea for those living in facilities to get inoculated and announced measures to boost vaccination rates.

The interval between first and second doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s shot has been shortened to 21 days from 28 days for those living in care homes. The interval for BioNTech SE remains at three weeks. Unvaccinated residents of care facilities who recover from a Covid infection can now get their first shot after four weeks.

Hospitals have started giving patients Merck & Co.’s antiviral pill molnupiravir, which cuts the risk of severe disease and death by about half, particularly when it’s given soon after infection. They’re still waiting for Pfizer Inc.’s more potent Paxlovid, which is about 90% effective.

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: Cases exceed 442 million; deaths top 5.9 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.8 billion doses administered
• Coronavirus Daily: Deteriorating conditions in Hong Kong
• China’s Covid stance has created $280 billion tourism black hole
• Shows, fine dining ... sports? What it’s like to visit Las Vegas

Hong Kong to Close Courts: Sing Tao

Hong Kong will close all courts from Monday to April 11, Sing Tao reported, citing unidentified people. Only urgent cases, including bail applications, will be handled, the report said. Some judges have been infected with Covid, while dozens of lawyers have caught the virus during trials or visits to Hong Kong Correctional Services.

Cost of China’s ‘Covid Zero’ Policy Worthwhile: Official

The impacts of China’s “dynamic Covid zero” approach on people’s lives and production are short-term and limited, Zhang Yesui, a spokesman of the National People’s Congress, said at a press conference. China aims to control outbreaks as soon as possible instead of having no cases, Zhang said.

Shionogi Says Vaccine Found Effective

Japanese drugmaker Shionogi & Co. said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was found safe and effective in a study. The recombinant protein-based vaccine that was being tested as a booster shot met its primary endpoint in the Phase 2/3 trials, Osaka-based Shionogi said in a statement Friday announcing the interim report’s findings. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events, deaths or adverse events of special interest, it said.

Singapore Sets More Travel Lanes

Singapore will extend Vaccinated Travel Lanes to more cities in Malaysia, Indonesia and India. It will also launch VTLs from two new countries, Greece and Vietnam, according to an emailed statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

In Indonesia, the VTL will extend beyond Jakarta to include Bali-Denpasar beginning March 16. In Malaysia, it will extend beyond Kuala Lumpur to include Penang. And in India, it will extend beyond Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai to include all cities.

JPMorgan Hands Out Cash to HK Staff

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the first Wall Street bank to offer a quarantine subsidy in Hong Kong, is now handing out HK$1,800 ($230) to each of its employees as the city grapples with its largest outbreak of infections during the pandemic. The cash payment will allow staff to treat themselves and their families to a meal once the current restrictions are lifted, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman said. 

JPMorgan last year was also first to announce a reimbursement of $5,000 to employees to compensate for hotel quarantine stays. 

Shanghai Sees 16 Infections

China’s financial hub Shanghai reported 16 infections on Friday, prompting the city’s health officials to conduct swift contact tracing and isolation to curb the virus spread. Wu Jinglei, the city’s top health official, said vaccination has kept symptoms mild among those infected. All but two infections are asymptomatic, and many of them are elderly people. Overall, China reported 117 cases on Friday as infections spread out across the country. 

Vietnam Mulls Shift to Covid Endemic Path 

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the health ministry to begin the process of moving the country to the course of living with Covid-19 and treating it as endemic even as cases surge.

Chinh ordered officials during Thursday’s cabinet meeting to study how other countries have made the move, according to a post on the government’s website. The prime minister said March and coming months will continue to be difficult and unpredictable as the country battles the virus and the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine. 

Vietnam reported 118,790 virus cases on Thursday, the health ministry said on its website.

South Korea Reports Record Cases, Deaths

South Korea’s daily new infections reached a record of 266,853 while the number of deaths rose by a record 186, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Despite the worsening numbers, the government said it would allow restaurants and cafes to open until 11 p.m., a one-hour extension, from Saturday through March 20. Authorities also halted the vaccine pass mandate in restaurants, cafes and other high-risk venues from earlier this week to ease economic pressure on mom-and-pop businesses.

Southeast Asia Infections

Malaysia’s new cases also reached a record as the Southeast Asia nation grapples with the spread of the omicron variant. The nation added 32,467 cases on Thursday, surpassing the previous peak of 32,070 cases recorded on Feb. 24, data from the health ministry show.

The spread of the omicron strain has pushed up cases across Southeast Asia. Thailand recorded 23,618 new infections, while Vietnam added 176,150 cases.

Japan to Extend Loans for Businesses

Japan will support small and medium-sized businesses with a package of measures to alleviate the impact of the pandemic, including an extension of loans, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a briefing in Tokyo.

The  move comes as Japan’s unemployment rate edged up in January as a record wave of infections prompted renewed restrictions that are likely to continue slowing progress in the recovery of the labor market in February and March. 

HK Delivery Services Impacted by Outbreak

Hong Kong Technology Venture’s shopping platform HKTVmall said it’s facing unprecedented operational pressure and warned that orders may be canceled. It cited a staffing shortage and supply issues as well as logistic partners suspending services.

Separately, SF Express will suspend to-door delivery services in Hong Kong from March 5, according to its website, citing the challenging environment, uncontrollable factors under the pandemic and a rapid rise in operating costs.

Covid Deaths Among HK Children Alarm Parents

Three children under the age of 5 have died in Hong Kong’s spiraling Covid outbreak, a disproportionately large number that has local parents anxious, though pediatricians say it could just be a grim coincidence.

While the numbers are too low to draw any conclusions, according to experts, the kids -- aged 11 months, 3 and 4 years old -- make up nearly 0.3% of the 1,153 fatalities that have occurred in this wave of infections. None had known underlying health conditions. Their deaths are being investigated by the coroner, according to the Hospital Authority.

The childhood deaths are higher than in countries such as Australia and Singapore. 

Japan to Ease Border Restrictions

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to further ease Japan’s border controls for the pandemic while extending virus restrictions for Tokyo and 17 other regions until March 21, as infections linger in the country.

He told a Thursday news conference his government would raise a cap on daily arrivals from overseas to 7,000 starting March 14 from the current 5,000, giving priority to students. Japan eased some of the developed world’s most stringent virus border measures Tuesday, but had set the cap on arrivals so low it would take months to clear the enormous backlog of people waiting for entry.

China Covid Stance Creates Tourism Black Hole

After two long years, piazzas and shopping boutiques across Europe are again welcoming tourists, with one big difference: Chinese travelers — some of the biggest spenders before the pandemic — are nowhere to be seen. It’s the same in Southeast Asia, where tourism-dependent economies are throwing open their doors, but the white-sand beaches of the Philippines and night markets of northern Thailand are all but deserted.

China’s borders remain effectively sealed as the country continues to pursue a zero-tolerance approach to a virus that other parts of the world have accepted as endemic. For the country’s 1.4 billion people, international travel is basically off the table with weeks-long hotel quarantines on return and flight options severely limited. Fear of Covid, which is stamped out aggressively when it flares in China, is also a factor.

Hong Kong Residents Escape to Singapore

Frustrated and anxious about the government’s handling of Covid-19, some Hong Kongers are looking to flee, even if it’s just to wait out the worst of the outbreak. Rival financial hub Singapore is a popular escape. 

A net 71,000 people left Hong Kong in February, the biggest outflow since the pandemic began, as the city’s most rampant wave of Covid intensified. While Hong Kong is effectively shut off from a raft of countries it deems high risk, there are 137 scheduled flights to Singapore in March, more than anywhere else aside from Shanghai, which is off limits to most non-Chinese citizens. 

Many of those leaving are doing so temporarily, hoping to avoid the mandatory mass Covid tests Hong Kong plans to start in mid-March. But others are eyeing longer shifts, and schools in Singapore are receiving a surge in interest from Hong Kong parents.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg