Japan regions push to end state of emergency as virus infections fall
Regional authorities in Japan have urged that emergency pandemic measures be lifted before a scheduled date of 7 March, as new coronavirus cases trend lower, the economy minister said, adding that the government would consult experts before it agreed.
Reuters: A surge in cases prompted Japan to declare a state of emergency last month for 11 prefectures, requesting residents to curtail activities and businesses to shorten operating hours.
The state of emergency will probably be lifted in stages, though businesses will be asked to continue closing early, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Wednesday.
Japan recorded 1,083 new Covid cases on Tuesday, national broadcaster NHK said, but that was well off a peak of almost 8,000 on Jan. 8. New infections in the capital, which stood at 213 on Wednesday, have fallen to levels not seen since November.
Vietnamese migrant workers made jobless and homeless by the coronavirus pandemic unload donated broccoli from a van at Daionji Temple on February 20, 2021 in Honjo, Japan. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Three western prefectures and three more in central and southern regions have requested that the state of emergency be lifted as early as this week, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said late on Tuesday.
Tokyo and neighbouring prefectures will remain under the state of emergency, Nishimura added.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet ministers on Wednesday to discuss lifting the emergency in the six regions, with a final decision expected on Friday, Jiji news said, citing unidentified government sources.
As Japan emerges from its third and most deadly wave of the pandemic, it began vaccinations last week, later than most major economies. It has largely avoided the wide testing elsewhere, but is encouraging random tests by local authorities to head off new clusters.
People could use a revamped NHS app to prove their Covid status on entering pubs or theatres in England under plans being considered by ministers, as one major care provider said staff have two months to get jabbed or lose their jobs.
Ministers are expected to give businesses in England the power to check Covid certification – whether people have been vaccinated or the result of recent tests. That will include small-scale venues like restaurants or bars.
However, the equalities watchdog and trade unions have said that any move that relies solely on vaccine certification could be unlawful and that passes must not be used to relax Covid safety measures in workplaces.
Thailand received on Wednesday its first 200,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac, the country’s first batch of coronavirus vaccines, with inoculations set to begin in a few days, Reuters reports.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to be among the first to receive the vaccine this weekend. Most doses have been reserved for frontline medical workers.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier this week said 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine would also arrive on Wednesday and that Prayuth would be among the first recipients.
Thailand is expecting to take delivery of a further 1.8 doses of CoronaVac in March and April, to be given mainly to health workers and at-risk groups. The country has so far been spared of the kind of epidemic seen elsewhere, with just over 25,000 infections overall.
The vaccine’s arrival comes amid some public criticism of the government and accusations it has been too slow to secure the vaccines.
Its mass immunisation campaign, which aims to administer 10 million doses a month, is slated to begin in June, using 26 million shots of AstraZeneca vaccines produced by local firm Siam Bioscience. It has also reserved a further 35 million doses of the vaccine.
The government has said it plans to vaccinate more than half the adult population this year.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 8,007 to 2,402,818, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday.
The reported death toll rose by 422 to 68,740, the tally showed.
Singapore says discussing vaccine certification with other countries
Singapore is discussing the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates with other countries, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, calling it a necessary step towards resuming global travel, Reuters reports.
Singapore, a regional travel and tourism hub, has been rolling out its Covid-19 vaccination programme over the last two months. It has approved shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
A group of men wearing masks sit on a bench in the financial district of Singapore, 16 February 2021. Photograph: Wallace Woon/EPA
Singapore’s economy, which recorded its worst recession in 2020 due to the pandemic, is staging an uneven recovery this year and a return of more business and tourism travel would be a boost for the city state.
Greece, Spain and Britain are among other nations looking into the idea of vaccine certificates or so-called vaccine passports in a bid to revive economies and travel.
South Korea shipped its first doses of a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, transferring AstraZeneca vaccines from a production facility in the country to a warehouse outside the capital of Seoul in preparation for this week’s inoculation drive, Reuters reports.
Healthcare workers are scheduled to receive the first batch of AstraZeneca PLC’s vaccine from Friday, as South Korea looks to protect 10 million high-risk people by July, on its way to reaching herd immunity by November.
AstraZeneca shots enough for about 750,000 people will be distributed from a production facility of SK Chemicals Co Ltd unit SK bioscience to immunisation centres across the country starting on Wednesday.
“We start the first historic vaccination on Friday with the vaccines rolled out today,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a government meeting.
“This is the first step that will lead us to a long-waited return to normal.”
Hong Kong permanent residents are to receive HK$5,000 (US$640) in coupons in an effort to stimulate the economy, the South China Morning Post reports:
#LIVE: Every Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above, will receive HK$5,000 in consumption coupons in instalments. This will benefit 7.2 million people and cost HK$36 billion, Chan says, confirming a Post report https://t.co/LbjZr9flrm
Podcast: The science behind England’s Covid exit plan
Nicola Davis runs through the science behind the government’s decision to begin lifting lockdown restrictions, a four-stage plan that starts with the reopening of schools and could see the return of nightclubs on 21 June:
The US House of Representatives will vote on Friday on legislation to provide $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief, Representative Steny Hoyer, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said.
“The American people strongly support this bill, and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law,” Hoyer said on Twitter on Tuesday.
Reuters: The House Budget Committee approved the measure on Monday. Passing more relief to ease the economic effects of the pandemic is a top priority of Democratic President Joe Biden.
Although polls show Americans want more economic support, Democrats - who narrowly control Congress - and Republicans differ sharply over how best to provide it.
The US coronavirus death toll this week surpassed the grim benchmark of 500,000 victims. Millions more have been left jobless by the pandemic.
The sweeping legislation is intended to stimulate the US economy and carry out Biden*s proposals to provide additional money for vaccines and other medical equipment.
Guatemala’s health minister Amelia Flores said on Tuesday that Guatemala hopes to receive the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in the coming weeks, Reuters reports.
“They already have the emergency registration to be able to enter the country and we are only waiting for the date, which we believe will be in a few weeks,” Flores said while leaving a meeting at Congress on Tuesday.
Parents wearing face masks queue to attend a ceremony marking the start of school at the Ramona Gil School in Chimaltenango, 60 km west of Guatemala City, on February 22, 2021. Photograph: Johan Ordóñez/AFP/Getty Images
Guatemala had expected to receive its first shipment of vaccines through Covax by the end of this month, but that delivery has been delayed.
Flores added that Guatemala is also expecting to receive the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine in the first week of April.
The Central American nation has recorded 172,000 positive cases of coronavirus and 6,315 deaths.
