The coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. continued to ease as the average daily increase fell by about 20% from the previous week. The White House issued the strongest criticism yet of how the World Health Organization handled the investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 virus and how China was involved in the researcher’s findings.
Australia’s second-largest state, Victoria, discovered two new cases of the virus on Saturday, though it’s still too early to say whether a five-day lockout will come to bring about the latest uprising to end as scheduled Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has expanded loops on dinner in cafes and restaurants for 20 days as the number of cases in the country has grown.
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Saudi Arabi extends loops on eating, entertainment (1:15 pm HK)
Saudi Arabia expanded with 20 days of restrictions on gatherings, entertainment and dinner in restaurants and cafes. The kingdom introduced the restrictions earlier this month along with a ban on foreign entry from 20 countries. They reported 337 new virus cases on Saturday, as well as four deaths.
Victoria finds two cases as Snap Shutdown begins (10:40 hK HK)
Two new cases of community-transmitted virus were detected in Victoria in the 24 hours to midnight Saturday, the state health department said Sunday. Ther has 21 active cases in the state.
“It is too early to say whether we have been successful,” Health Minister Martin Foley told reporters on Sunday.
The state, whose capital Melbourne suffered one of the longest and toughest locks in the world last year, was forced into a five-day closure to break out the wildfire virus of the UK of the virus transmitted from a quarantine hotel.
Neighbor of New South Wales, the country’s most inhabited state, recorded its 28th straight day without new issues, the longest climb since the pandemic began.
New Zealand records three community events (10:40 am HK)
New Zealand has detected three cases of the virus outside quarantine. A mother, father and daughter from the same home in Auckland were positive, the health ministry said in a statement Sunday.
New Zealand has been one of the most successful countries in terms of introducing the virus, at one point last year went 100 days without issue thanks to border closures and tight closures throughout of the country.
UK meets key vaccine target (8:05 am NY)
The UK has achieved its target of protecting nearly 15 million of its most vulnerable citizens against coronavirus, cementing a record of delivering one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world.
According to the Bloomberg Vaccination Administrator, the UK delivered 15.1 million doses as of Saturday. Nearly 22% of the population received a single dose, with less than 1% receiving two doses.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson set the target at the start of the year with the aim of vaccinating everyone over the age of 70, as well as people living or working in care homes, health service workers and the most vulnerable to Covid-19. These groups are estimated to account for around 88% of deaths from the disease in the UK
Brazil’s weekly death rises as things continue to fall (7:12 am HK)
Brazil reported the fourth straight week of falling cases, although infections remain as high as last summer’s peak, according to Ministry of Health data. A further 44,299 cases were reported on Saturday, for a total of 9.8 million, mostly after the US and India.
The country reported 1,043 deaths Saturday, at a weekend in which deaths rose to their highest level since July, the data shows. Brazil has recorded a total of 238,532 deaths, mostly after the US
France leads EU Big Four (5:15 pm NY) vaccine race
The Covid-19 vaccine has the fastest speed among the four most populous countries in the European Union, according to the latest image by Bloomberg vaccine data detector.
France raised its vaccine pace this week, setting it on the path to covering 75% of the population with a two-dose vaccine in about two and a half years. Germany is expected to reach the target in 2.8 years, Spain in three years and Italy in three and a half years, according to the calculations.
The UK daily average of 438,000 on Friday rose from 431,000 on Monday, allowing Britain to reach 75% in six months. For the U.S. – now managing an average of 1.7 million views per day – the estimate is eight months.
UK variety ‘Likely’ more deadly, scientists say (5:02 pm NY)
The coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK appears to be “associated with an increased risk for hospitalization and death,” British government scientists concluded.
In January, as the so-called B.1.1.7 variable raised growing warnings, the same group of scientists said the variant appeared to be causing a more severe disease and that “ more data collecting in the coming weeks. ” The follow-up paper raised warnings about the limitations of further studies from across the UK But the scientists concluded “the variability” seems to increase the chances of hospitalization and death, even though “the overall risk of death for all disease remains low. ”
The variant was found in more than 30 U.S. states, and public health researchers believed it could become mainstream by March.
Venezuela receives 100,000 Sputnik-V vaccines (3:39 pm NY)
Venezuela received the first 100,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine on Saturday, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on state television.
Rodriguez said U.S. sanctions on Venezuela have prevented him from buying more vaccines. This first batch will be applied to “the most vulnerable sectors, the health workers,” Rodriguez said. The Sputnik behavior is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Venezuela, Russian ambassador Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov said.
New California Matters, Deaths Fall Below Average (2:20 pm NY)
California reported fewer new cases and deaths than the 14-day follow-up average, according to the Department of Health website. The state reported 9,421 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, lower than the average of 11,904, and 433 deaths, less than the average of 442. The state’s 14-day advanced test rate fell to 4.9%, the lowest level since Nov. 17. California has administered a total of 45.4 million tests.
France raises consistent issues (1:48 pm NY)
France has added 21,231 new cases, as the country remains on the declining plateau as Health Minister Olivier Veran explained this week. 199 deaths rose to 81,647. Vaccines, whose pace is steadily slowing over weekends in France, reached 49,953 on Saturday, according to Ministry of Health figures.
White House Voices of Skeptism on China’s Role in Covid-19 Probe (12:07 pm NY)
The White House issued the strongest criticism yet of how the World Health Organization handled the investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 virus and how China was involved in the researcher’s findings.
“We have serious concerns about how the early results of the Covid-19 study were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement Saturday. “It is essential that this report is independent, with expert findings free from intervention or change by the Chinese government.”
Calling for transparency, Sullivan said “China needs to release its data from the earliest days of the revolution. ”
NY Hospitals Keep Falling (11:59 am NY)
New York virus hospitals continued to fall, to 6,888, the lowest level since Dec. 25, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. While the state’s hospitals are among the highest in the country, Cuomo said that number has dropped more than 900 in the past week.
The state reported 8,763 new cases, according to the far slower infectious rate compared to a month ago. The positive test rate, measured over seven days, fell to 4.63%, also the lowest level since the Christmas period, Cuomo said. Another 125 people died.
The US Revolution continues easily (7:43 am NY)
The U.S. filed 99,575 new cases on Friday, a daily decline amid a continuing trend of rapidly declining infections, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg Universities. That brings to 101,980 the average daily increase from the previous seven days, a 22% drop from the previous seven days. Daily increases come to nearly 300,000 around New Year.
A further 5,476 deaths have been reported, although that number is exhausted as Ohio has reported an estimated 4,000 new deaths. Ohio alone caused 2,559 deaths Friday. However, the national decline in deaths is accelerating, with average daily deaths from the previous seven days falling by 14% compared to the previous week.
UAE vaccines exceed 5 million (7:03 am NY)
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have dispensed 103,469 doses in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of inoculations to 5,005,264. This compares with doses of 109,587 on Friday and 107,550 on Thursday.
The country reported 2,631 new cases and 15 deaths in the past 24 hours. Cases in the UAE had risen to nearly 4,000 per day by the end of January.
Oxford University begins childhood immunization tests (5pm HK)
Oxford University will begin testing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc on children, a step that could be a key step in ending the global pandemic.
The Oxford trial is set to enroll 300 children age 6 to 17, the university said in a statement Saturday. The first vaccine will be held this month, with as many as 240 children receiving the coronavirus vaccine and the rest being shot with meningitis, which should have similar side effects. A larger trial involving thousands of children is expected to be performed by Astra in the US at a later date.