Feb 8 (Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Hong Kong’s COVID misery deepens
Hong Kong announced stringent new coronavirus restrictions and record new infections on Tuesday, while a shortage of vegetables added to the misery as truck drivers who tested positive for COVID-19 were unable to bring them from mainland China.
The Asian financial hub reported a record 625 cases on Tuesday, with cases likely to continue rising rapidly, authorities said. There were 2,600 infections over the past two weeks compared with just two in December.
Beijing Games to bring in more spectators
China will invite more spectators to attend the Winter Olympics as the COVID-19 situation is under control within the “closed-loop” bubble, which separates all event personnel from the public, an official from the Beijing organizers said on Tuesday.
China did not sell tickets to the public amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic but selected a number of spectators from targeted groups of people who are required to undertake strict COVID prevention measures.
Malaysia COVID panel recommends full border reopening in March
Malaysia’s coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery.
The Southeast Asian nation has kept its borders shut since March 2020 and suspended the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks. read more
Australia’s COVID hospital admissions fall
Australia’s COVID-19 hospital cases and people admitted to intensive care continued to trend lower on Tuesday as authorities urged people to get their vaccine boosters to prevent serious illness and deaths.
Fuelled by the Omicron strain, Australia’s total infections have now touched nearly 2.4 million, almost 10% of the country’s population, with about 2.2 million in the last two months alone. read more
New Zealand protesters block streets outside parliament
Hundreds of people protesting vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions blocked streets outside New Zealand’s parliament on Tuesday with trucks and campervans, inspired by similar demonstrations in Canada.
The “convoy for freedom” protesters arrived from all corners of New Zealand and gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Wellington ahead of the first speech for the year by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. read more
Angry Canadian truckers were blocking the busiest crossing with the United States on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepared to face legislators later in the day to discuss the growing crisis. read more
New Jersey, California among U.S. states moving to ease mask mandates
Officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and Oregon said on Monday they will lift indoor mask mandates for schools and other public places in coming weeks, seeking a return to “normalcy” as soaring COVID-19 infections fueled by the Omicron variant abate.
The changes signal a growing inclination by political leaders in those states, all led by Democrats, to take pandemic-weary residents off an emergency footing. read more
Novavax underdelivers on vaccine promises
Novavax has delivered just a small fraction of the 2 billion COVID-19 shots it plans to send around the world in 2022 and has delayed first-quarter shipments in Europe and lower income countries such as the Philippines, public officials involved in their government’s vaccine rollouts told Reuters.
Novavax said it has completed delivery of only around 10 million vaccine doses so far, but is moving as quickly as possible to ship its contracted supplies for this quarter. read more
Compiled by Linda Noakes Editing by Tomasz Janowski
