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Almost a year after the coronavirus outbreak officially became a pandemic, health officials are still facing challenges in bringing it under control, as global cases rose for a second week.
Anthony Fauci said caseloads remain “very high,” even as the U.S. recorded a full week with fewer than 70,000 daily infections for the first time since mid-October. Brazil is facing more cases and deaths than ever, and Italy is considering tougher controls to counter a surge of infections tied to variants.
Vietnam began vaccinations, while India is seeing a jump in inoculations after a sluggish start. Thailand moved a step closer to issuing vaccine certificates. Decisions by two states to remove all virus restrictions have reignited a political debate in the U.S., as a poll showed Americans appear to be wary of aggressively loosening rules.
Key Developments:
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Hong Kong Boosts Vaccination Priority Group (3:08 p.m. HK)
Hong Kong added seven groups of workers eligible to receive vaccinations, with bookings starting from Tuesday, Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip said in a briefing. The new groups include staff of catering premises, supermarkets and wet markets, as well as public transport drivers, school teachers, tourism sector workers and fitness center staff.
With the new groups, about 1.3 million additional people will be eligible for vaccination. Combined with the original five priority groups, about 3.7 million people will be able to receive Covid jabs.
Thailand Backs Vaccine Passport Plan (3:01 p.m. HK)
Thailand moved a step closer to issuing vaccine certificates, with a panel of officials backing the proposal seen as a major milestone toward allowing the tourism-reliant nation to fully reopen to foreign visitors.
The Health Ministry will issue documents to residents who have completed their Covid-19 vaccinations that will allow them to travel abroad, according to Deputy Premier and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Thailand also plans to reduce the mandatory quarantine period for vaccinated foreign visitors to seven days from 14 days currently, he said, adding the proposals are expected to be approved by a national committee later this month.
Italy Considers More Curbs (2:27 p.m. HK)
The Italian government is considering tougher nationwide controls to counter a surge in new coronavirus cases attributed to new variants, according to local media reports.
Among the steps under consideration are turning regions into high risk “red zones” if the threshold of 250 weekly virus cases per 100,000 inhabitants is breached, and closing shopping malls during the week, Italian newspapers reported on Sunday.
“The second wave never stopped,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza told newspaper Corriere della Sera. “We’re seeing a very strong pickup due to the variants, which is leading us to take measures that are ever-more restrictive.”
Astra Shots Donated to Uganda (2:16 p.m. HK)
India’s government donated 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Uganda. The vaccines arrived in the East African nation on Sunday, ahead of the start of inoculations on March 10, Uganda’s Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero said. On March 5, Uganda received the initial batch of 864,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and shipped via the Covax facility.
Singapore Gave First Dose to 6.7% of Citizens (2:11 p.m. HK)
Singapore has given 379,000 people their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to data the Ministry of Health. The city-state’s total population stands at 5.69 million. More than 217,000 have received a second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen. The government is bringing forward vaccinations for seniors aged 60 to 69 years of age to the end of March as more vaccine supplies have arrived.
Malaysia in Talks with Pfizer on Vaccines (2:07 p.m. HK)
Malaysia is weighing an offer from Pfizer to purchase additional vaccines for 20% of the population, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in a briefing. Malaysia will sign a separate agreement with Pfizer this week, which will take the nation’s purchases of the company’s shots to 32 million. It will receive all the vaccines this year.
Taiwan, Palau May Set Up ‘Travel Bubble’ (1:05 p.m. HK)
Taiwan could set up a “travel bubble” with the island nation of Palau as early as next week, subjecting tourists from each side to fewer quarantine restrictions, Taipei-based Apple Daily reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The details aren’t finalized yet, the report said.
NZ Buys Pfizer Doses to Cover Country (11:11 a.m. HK)
New Zealand has purchased an additional 8.5 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, meaning it will have enough to vaccinate the entire population, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in an emailed statement.
“This brings our total Pfizer order to 10 million doses, or enough for 5 million people to get the two shots needed to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19,” Ardern said.
The vaccines are expected to arrive during the second half of the year. Ardern said the decision to make Pfizer New Zealand’s primary vaccine provider was based on the fact that the shot has been shown to be about 95% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. Having a single vaccine will also simplify the roll out.
Vietnam Begins Vaccinations (9:29 a.m. HK)
Vietnam began vaccinations with medical workers in Hanoi, Hai Duong and Ho Chi Minh City getting the first shots Monday morning, the government website reported.
The health ministry is initially distributing vaccines only to medical facilities treating virus patients in 13 provinces and cities, according to the government website post.
Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said Vietnam will receive 1.3 million vaccine doses this month and more are expected in April and May, according to the ministry’s website.
China May Reach Herd Immunity Next Year (8:29 a.m. HK)
China needs to vaccinate 70% to 80% of its population to reach herd immunity against Covid-19, and it can only accomplish that by mid-2022 at the earliest, said George Gao, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in an interview with Chinese News Service.
Arkansas Sees Gradual Mask Easing (3:39 p.m. NY)
Governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday he would keep Arkansas’s mask mandate at least through the end of the month. He said wanted a more gradual “off ramp” to easing than states like Texas or Mississippi that abruptly ended their mandates last week.
But he told “Fox News Sunday” that easing, including ending mask mandates, was inevitable a year after the U.S. began imposing restrictions to impede the virus. He said the mask mandate would likely become recommended “guidance.”
Houston Police Warn on Mask Disputes (2:20 p.m. NY)
A person rides a scooter in downtown Houston on March 3. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week announced that masking requirements and other anti-pandemic restrictions will be lifted on March 10.
Photographer: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images
Houston’s top cop warned residents of the fourth-largest U.S. city to comply with businesses that insist on masks after Texas’s statewide mandate is lifted this week.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week announced that masking requirements and other anti-pandemic restrictions that have been in place since last summer will be lifted on March 10. It will be up to individual grocers, restaurateurs and other business owners as to whether they will still require masking up.
Cuomo Says He Won’t Resign (1:38 p.m. NY)
Restaurants outside of New York City will be able to increase capacity to 75% from 50% starting March 19, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a briefing Sunday. But even as he outlined improving virus metrics, the briefing was overshadowed by allegations that he had sexually harassed several women.
“There is no way I resign,” the governor said, adding that Attorney General Letitia James would investigate the allegations. “I’m not going to resign because of allegations.”
Hospitalizations, the highest in the U.S., fell further to 4,789. New cases were 6,789, in line with recent daily increases and far lower than the surge over the holidays. Another 59 people died, the fewest since Dec. 5.
Andrew Cuomo
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
New CDC Guidelines Expected (12:52 p.m. NY)
A year into the pandemic, new CDC guidelines expected soon on what people can do after they’re vaccinated need to be grounded in reality, said the former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Public health guidance needs to take into consideration what people want to do. We can’t be so far behind the aspirations of the public that the guidance itself gets ignored,” Scott Gottlieb said on CBS.
“People are sensing that overall vulnerability is declining. ... So people are going to want to start to do things. They’re going to want to start to go out more. And we need to take that into consideration in terms of how we’re putting out guidance.”
Fauci Says U.S. Cases Still ‘Very High’ (11:40 a.m. NY)
U.S. cases remain “very high” and a rush to lift virus-related restrictions risks triggering another surge, Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“Plateauing at a level of 60,000-70,000 new cases per day is not an acceptable level,” Fauci said. “That is really very high.”
Fauci’s comments extend a series of warnings, including by Biden, that decisions by Texas and Mississippi to end mask mandates are premature, even as the pace of vaccination in the U.S. accelerates.
“We are going in the right direction. We just need to hang in there a bit longer,” Fauci said.
Meanwhile, Fauci said that new federal guidelines for how vaccinated people can interact with non-vaccinated folks would be coming out likely in the next couple of days.
Spring Break Draws Covid-Weary Crowds (11:38 a.m. NY)
People gather on a beach in Miami on March 5.
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg
Thousands of U.S. students tired of a year of Covid-19 restrictions have descended on Florida for spring break, despite travel warnings and fears of another viral wave.
“This spring break feels like a different order of chaos,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said, according to the Miami Herald. “It feels different. Part of it, clearly, is we’re the only place open.”
Local officials worry the break will become a super-spreader event, especially with the rise of more-transmissible variants. Florida is the U.S. state with the most cases of the B.1.1.7 strain first found in the U.K., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said it did not recommend traveling for spring break.
GOP Reopenings Sharpen Political Divide (11:10 a.m. NY)
Decisions by two Republican governors to remove all coronavirus restrictions in their states have reignited the political debate on the pandemic response, elevating it as a campaign issue this year and in 2022.
Republicans Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves of Mississippi announced last week they’re eliminating state mask mandates and allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity, setting expectations for other GOP-led states to follow suit.
The moves drew dire warnings from Democrats and health officials that they risk igniting another spike in cases and deaths and stood in stark contrast to Joe Biden’s cautious approach.
— With assistance by Jeff Sutherland
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