(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong will hike quarantine for medium-risk places to 14 days to curb the spread of the virus. Business groups in the city are already opposing measures announced on Monday that curbed travel.
In the U.S., the Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a booster shot eight months after their initial vaccination, the New York Times reported, citing two officials familiar with the discussions. The U.S. State Department also lowered its India travel advisory to its second-lowest level after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the South Asian nation now has “moderate level of Covid-19.”
Singapore is considering a plan to allow groups of vaccinated travelers to enter the country on carefully controlled itineraries.
Key Developments:
Global Tracker: Cases top 207.4 million; deaths pass 4.36 millionVaccine Tracker: More than 4.7 billion doses administeredWhere are we in the quest for Covid treatments?: QuickTakeBusinesses in Hong Kong slam tightened Covid travel curbsBooster shots for Americans eight months after vaccination: NYTCovid hospital deaths hit previous peaks in hot-spot areas
One Case in New Zealand (10.59 a.m. HK)
New Zealand officials are investigating a new community case of Covid-19 in largest city Auckland. The case was identified early Tuesday afternoon. A link between the case and the border or managed isolation is yet to be established. New Zealand has run a successful elimination strategy, defined as having zero tolerance for new cases, which has limited the South Pacific nation to fewer than 2,600 confirmed cases and just 26 deaths.
Booster Shots in the U.S.: NYT (10:55 a.m. HK)
The Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a coronavirus booster shot eight months after they completed their initial vaccination, according to the New York Times. The administration could begin offering the extra shots as early as mid-September. Officials are planning to announce the administration’s decision as early as this week. Their goal is to let Americans know now that they will need additional protection against the Delta variant that is causing surging caseloads across the nation.
Hong Kong’s New Quarantine Requirements (10:41 a.m. HK)
Hong Kong will end a short-lived rule that allowed travelers from most parts of the world to spend just one week quarantined in a hotel, provided they had an antibody test proving they were vaccinated against Covid-19.
Hong Kong will no longer recognize antibody test results as a basis to cut quarantine period for arrivals, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a briefing Tuesday. That effectively will leave New Zealand as the only country outside of China that qualifies for a seven day quarantine for vaccinated travelers.
Business groups in the city reacted with dismay after travel curbs were tightened Monday for residents returning from more than a dozen countries -- including the U.S., France and Spain.
Philippines Wants More Vaccines (10:20 a.m. HK)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked for more vaccine doses from the U.S. In a taped briefing televised Monday night, he said the government is ready to pay for more supply. In the same briefing, the official leading the vaccine procurement, Carlito Galvez, said they expect 6 million shots to arrive this week after receiving 8.7 million shots in the previous two weeks. The government has so far administered 7.33 million shots this month, compared with a target for 15 million.
Delta Spreads Across Australia (10:15 a.m. HK)
Australia’s delta outbreak continues to spread despite more than half the nation’s 26 million people being placed into lockdown. New South Wales state recorded 452 new cases on Tuesday, down from the record of 478 set the previous day, with the vast bulk of those infections detected in Sydney. Melbourne and national capital Canberra are also enforcing stay-at-home orders, and on Tuesday recorded 24 and 17 new cases respectively.
Authorities are increasingly concerned that the outbreak’s spreading into the continent’s interior is threatening vulnerable Indigenous populations. On Monday, the tropical city of Darwin was placed into a snap lockdown, while on Tuesday it was confirmed the virus had reached the Outback town of Broken Hill.
UBS Cuts China GDP Forecast (9:54 a.m. HK)
UBS Group AG lowered its projection for China’s full year GDP forecasts for 2021 and 2022 as well as for 3Q 2021 on the impact of the latest virus outbreak and slow infrastructure investment. Third-quarter GDP forecast was cut to 5.8% y/y from 6.3% y/y, while 2022 forecast was lowered to 5.8% from 6.2%. Tighter mobility restrictions and cautious consumer sentiment will likely linger even after the latest virus outbreak is contained, UBS economists led by Wang Tao wrote in a report late Monday.
China Cases Dwindle (9:51 a.m. HK)
Covid cases in China are dwindling amid an intense slew of curbs authorities have put in place to slow delta’s spread. Only six symptomatic infections were reported on Tuesday, down from 90 a week ago.In an interview with state-owned news agency Xinhua, Health Minister Ma Xiaowei vowed to keep the virus’s spread under control by the end of August to ensure life returns to normal as soon as possible.Ma also reiterated containment effort as China’s priority and a “strong guarantee” for economic development and a sound investment environment. Ma told Xinhua the country’s health authorities will double down on measures to detect the virus’s breach from abroad early. He also vowed to strengthen curbs in hospitals treating Covid patients to avoid infections spreading into the community.
Japan Set to Expand Emergency (9:29 a.m. HK)
Japan plans to expand its current virus emergency now in place for Tokyo and other areas to seven more prefectures as well as extend it to Sept. 12, trying to stem a delta variant-fueled surge that has sent infections to records. Covid-19 czar and Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told an advisory panel Tuesday the government planned to add seven prefectures to the emergency, bringing the total to 13 areas. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was expected to make the decision official later Tuesday, local media including Kyodo News reported. Suga’s office said he will hold a news conference at 9 p.m. to discuss the virus situation.
Singapore Pilot Programs (9:03 a.m. HK)
Singapore continues to look at countries including the U.S., U.K. and Australia to explore possibilities of opening up, Gan Kim Yong, the country’s trade and industry minister, told Haslinda Amin in a Bloomberg Television interview Tuesday. Singapore may start with pilot arrangements for travelers “bubble wrapped to prevent transmission of the disease,” particularly for vaccinated visitors.
Indonesia’s New Cases Lowest Since June (8:08 a.m. HK)
The country reported 17,384 confirmed infections on Monday, the least since June 23. One in five people tested were found to have the virus, a sign of insufficient testing. Indonesia continues to top the world’s tally of daily deaths, with 1,245 fatalities reported on Monday.
More cities on Java and Bali islands will be allowed to reopen shopping malls for people who are vaccinated with capacity limits, as the government extends virus curbs until Aug. 23.
Indonesia will also allow some export-oriented companies to operate with 100% workforce on site using two shifts and strict health protocol, in a bid to find a way to reopen the economy without worsening its coronavirus outbreak. That program will involve 390,000 workers.
The government is preparing roadmaps to reopen other sectors, including education and tourism, as it gears up to live with the virus for a few more years. It will focus on accelerating vaccination, stepping up testing and tracing, while enforcing mask mandates. Indonesia aims to administer 100 million total vaccine doses as of the end of the month, from 83 million so far.Indonesia will also lower the maximum price for real-time polymerase chain reaction testing.
Singapore Teen Gets $166,000 (8:06 a.m. HK)
Singapore is giving S$225,000 ($166,000) to a 16-year-old boy who is recovering from a cardiac arrest after having his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, in order to help defray the costs of his medical care, the Ministry of Health said in a statement Monday.
The patient, who had required intensive care, is recovering steadily and will likely be discharged in the coming weeks, according to the statement. However, he will likely require outpatient rehabilitation for some time before he can return to school and resume other activities.
Thailand Virus Fight Needs More Money (8:04 a.m. HK)
Thailand’s central bank governor called for an additional 1 trillion baht ($30 billion) in government spending to counter coronavirus, saying the blow to the economy from the pandemic is greater than from the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
Meanwhile, Thailand will extend the closure of non-essential businesses and movement controls in its virus hotspots, including the capital Bangkok, until the Covid outbreak shows clear signs of easing. On Tuesday, the country reported a daily record 239 Covid deaths and 20,128 new cases.
CoronaVac’s Side Effect (6:45 a.m. HK)
People vaccinated with CoronaVac face a small increased chance of developing a temporary facial paralysis known as Bell’s palsy, according to scientists, but the benefits of getting the shot still outweigh the risks.
Nearly 5 in 100,000 more people may experience Bell’s palsy after the CoronaVac jab produced by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. than you would expect to see in the population, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The study, conducted in Hong Kong, compared Bell’s palsy rates reported within 42 days of either receiving the CoronaVac or the locally-produced Pfizer Inc. vaccine. The study found two more people per 100,000 were likely to suffer from the side effect than normal after the Pfizer shot, though cautioned more research was needed.
The authors of the study led by Ian Chi Kei Wong, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, recommended its continued use in protecting people against Covid-19 noting that “Bell’s palsy remains a rare, mostly temporary, adverse event.”
MGM Resorts’s Vaccine Mandate (6:30 a.m. HK)
MGM Resorts International, the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip, is now mandating Covid-19 vaccinations for all of its salaried employees. Staff that works exclusively at home is exempt. The company is working on ways to vaccinate more of its hourly staffers: housekeepers, bartenders and dealers who are typically represented by unions.
Las Vegas resorts have pushed vaccinations in part because earlier this year state regulators allowed them to open at higher levels of capacity based on their share of inoculated workers. Wynn Resorts Ltd. said 82% of its staff had received the shots, an unusually high number, in part due to them operating an on-site clinic for the vaccinations.
Deaths Hit Previous Peaks in Hot Spots (2:25 p.m. NY)
The number of people dying with Covid-19 in hospitals is hitting previous highs in some hot-spot states with low-to-average vaccination rates, upending hopes the virus has become less lethal.
In Florida, an average of about 203 people a day are dying in the hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, matching the state’s November 2020 peak, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. That’s a daily average of about nine per million residents, the data show.
Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri have also seen deaths among patients with Covid-19 soar in the past two weeks.
CDC Lowers Travel Advisory for India (2 p.m. NY)
The U.S. State Department lowered its India travel advisory to its second-lowest level of “exercise increased caution” after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the South Asian nation now has “moderate level of Covid-19.” The CDC lowered its travel advisory for India one notch to Level 2.
Pfizer Submits Third-Dose Data to FDA (11:35 a.m. NY)
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said they have submitted Phase 1 trial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine. The companies said in a statement that people who received a third dose of their mRNA vaccine showed “a favorable safety profile and robust immune responses.”
Pfizer Taps Bond Market for Vaccine Expenses (10:55 a.m. NY)
Pfizer Inc. is tapping the U.S. investment-grade market with a sustainability bond that will help fund Covid-19 vaccine expenses, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The note, due in 2031, may yield 0.75 percentage points above Treasuries, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
Proceeds from the sale are marked for research and development expenses and the manufacturing and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. The New York-based pharmaceutical company sees the vaccine bringing in $33.5 billion of revenue this year, which would make it one of the top-selling medicines ever.
NYC to Require Vaccines for Museums, Zoos (10:05 a.m. NY)
New York City plans to require visitors to its museums and other cultural institutions to be vaccinated, the New York Times reported, citing an unidentified city official.
The policy will require that visitors and employees at the city’s museums, concert halls, aquariums and zoos be vaccinated, the newspaper said. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to make the announcement at his briefing Monday morning.
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