Health News at Your Fingertips

A week after the Philippines reopened to foreign tourists for the first time in two years, the president’s spokesperson has declared the country is now at a “low risk” from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The National Capital Region and the entire Philippines now have a low-risk classification” in terms of case growth, prevalence and health system capacity, said Karlo Nograles, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte.

Cases have averaged about 3,600 daily in the past week although there are concerns that infections may rise as campaigning for the 9 May presidential elections begins, with political rallies seen as potential superspreader events.

Health officials say the number of fully vaccinated people in the Phillippines has reached around 56% of the population and hospital bed occupancy rates are at about 30%.

The government plans to lift all restrictions, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire promised, but she refused to give a specific time frame. “When that happens, all restrictions will be lifted and everything will be under self-regulation,” she added.

More than 55,000 people have died in the Phillippines, according to government data, although a recent new report suggests the true number of deaths may be double the health department’s official numbers.

Our Rome correspondent, Angela Giuffrida, reports on the latest Covid-19 restrictions in Italy:

All workers in Italy over the age of 50 are now obliged to show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid-19 within the last six months to access their workplace.

The measure was announced in early January, when daily infections were hovering around 200,000 a day and hospitals were under pressure, and took effect on Wednesday.

The vaccine was also made mandatory for the over-50s on 8 January. Of the 2.4m people over the age of 50 who had not been vaccinated on that date, about 1.7m are still unvaccinated, according to Wired Italia. Workers aged over 50 make up 8.8m of the population.

Italy has among the strictest Covid-19 rules in Europe, and is easing them slowly, for example the requirement to wear masks outside was scrapped last Friday.

But Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, the far-right party that is part of prime minister Mario Draghi’s broad coalition, is pushing for all restrictions to be lifted in March.

“We can’t be the ones with the most rules,” he said.

Infections have dropped sharply in recent weeks, with 28,630 registered on Monday, and hospitalisations have been falling. However, Italy is still recording a stubbornly high death rate, with 281 further fatalities reported on Monday.

Japan reported 236 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, the highest daily deaths since the pandemic began and bringing the country’s cumulative death toll to 20,759.

Japan has seen more than 100 daily deaths since early this year, mostly among the elderly population, amid a sixth wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The total number of cases in Japan has surpassed 4 million.

The country has started to see a decline in daily new Covid cases but experts have warned that deaths may continue to increase due to a recent series of infection clusters at facilities for elderly people.

“The growth in the number of severely ill patients is likely to continue for a while,” said Shigeru Omi, chairperson of the government’s coronavirus subcommittee on Monday.

The latest figures come after the Imperial Household Agency confirmed that Princess Yoko of Japan has developed moderate pneumonia after testing positive for coronavirus. Yoko, 38, was admitted to the University of Tokyo hospital on Tuesday after complaining of a sore throat early last week.

Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

More on the worsening coronavirus situation in Hong Kong, where hospitals are buckling under the strain of soaring cases driven by the Omicron variant and at least two medical facilities have placed patients in beds outside their entrances.

Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, told reporters today she had “no plans whatsoever” to impose a mainland China-style “complete, wholesale” lockdown.

But she insisted zero-Covid remained her administration’s goal, despite mounting pressure from public health experts and business figures to switch to a mitigation strategy.

Lam said:

We have to continue to fight this anti-epidemic battle. Surrendering to the virus is not an option.

Here is a round-up of the day’s main Covid stories so far:

• South Korea reported its highest number of Covid deaths in a month today as US health authorities advised Americans to avoid travelling to the country grappling with a fast-developing omicron surge.
• One of the last remaining countries without Covid – the small Pacific nation of Cook Islands – has reported its first case of the virus.
• The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has announced his government will invoke the Emergencies Act as the country goes into a third week of “illegal and dangerous” blockades.
• A new wave of infections from the Omicron variant of coronavirus is moving towards the east of Europe, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, urging authorities to improve vaccination and other measures.
• Novak Djokovic says he would rather miss out on grand slams than be vaccinated against Covid, in his first major interview since being deported from Australia earlier this year due to his vaccination status.
• A doctor from the German embassy in Moscow will conduct a coronavirus test on Olaf Scholz on his arrival in Russia, a German government source said, ahead of a meeting between the German chancellor and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
• Indonesia reported 57,049 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a record daily high, according to data from its Covid taskforce.
• Hong Kong’s leader said a surge of coronavirus cases is overwhelming the city’s emergency resources but defended strict measures that have been imposed.
• All remaining Covid legal restrictions in Northern Ireland are to be lifted and replaced by guidance.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, until tomorrow. My colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest coronavirus news throughout the rest of the day. Goodbye.

Indonesia reported 57,049 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a record daily high, according to data from its Covid taskforce.

The south-east Asian nation has recorded 4.9 million cases overall and more than 145,000 deaths.

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has announced his government will invoke the Emergencies Act as the country goes into a third week of “illegal and dangerous” blockades.

All remaining Covid legal restrictions in Northern Ireland are to be lifted and replaced by guidance.

Northern Ireland’s health minister, Robin Swann, confirmed on Monday that all legal restrictions in the region would be replaced by guidance from 15 February.

He will make an order revoking the remaining rules on Tuesday.

Under current Covid regulations, people are still required to wear face coverings in public places and Covid certificates are needed for nightclubs.

Swann, who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, was advised last week on the potential legal complications of him replacing Covid regulations with guidance, without the wider endorsement of an executive.

A doctor from the German embassy in Moscow will conduct a coronavirus test on Olaf Scholz on his arrival in Russia, a German government source said, ahead of a meeting between the German chancellor and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Scholz headed to Moscow on Tuesday on a high-stakes mission to avert war, with Russia’s largest trading partner in Europe warning of far-reaching sanctions if Russia attacks Ukraine.

The PCR test will be carried out on board the plane, which has landed in Moscow, the source said, adding that the chancellery had offered Russia the opportunity to send someone to observe the procedure.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, last week refused a Kremlin request that he take a Russian Covid test when he arrived to see Putin, to prevent the chance of Russia getting hold of Macron’s DNA, two sources in Macron’s entourage told Reuters.

A new wave of infections from the Omicron variant of coronavirus is moving towards the east of Europe, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, urging authorities to improve vaccination and other measures.

Over the past two weeks, cases of Covid have more than doubled in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, WHO’s Europe regional director Hans Kluge said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s leader said a surge of coronavirus cases is overwhelming the city’s emergency resources but defended strict measures that have been imposed.

Chief executive Carrie Lam said the Chinese central government was extending help to the city, which remains a nominally autonomous enclave, the Associated Press reported.

Despite its varying success, Hong Kong has stuck with China’s zero-tolerance strategy requiring lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing for Covid.

Lam said:

So far, our measures to contain the spread of the disease remain legitimate and valid.

The problem we are facing is given the magnitude, the pace of and the severity of this fifth wave.

It has outgrown our capacity.

The city reported a record 2,071 new cases on Monday, with that number expected to double on Tuesday with more than 4,500 preliminary positives identified.

Lam added that authorities will designate as quarantine stations new public housing units that have yet to be occupied, along with around 10,000 hotel rooms. Hong Kong requires confirmed coronavirus cases to isolate.

The city’s restrictions extend to limiting in-person gatherings to no more than two households, allowing only vaccinated people in shopping malls and supermarkets, and closing places of worship, hair salons and other businesses.

Hello. I’m Tom Ambrose and will be bringing you the latest Covid news from around the world over the next few hours.

We begin with the news that South Korea reported its highest number of Covid deaths in a month today as US health authorities advised Americans to avoid travelling to the country grappling with a fast-developing omicron surge.

The 61 deaths reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday was the highest daily tally since the 74 reported on 19 January, when the country was emerging from an outbreak driven by the Delta variant.

While Omicron so far seems less likely to cause serious illness or death, the greater scale of the outbreak is fuelling concerns that hospitalisations and fatalities could spike in coming weeks, the Associated Press reported.

The 57,177 new cases reported by the KDCA was another one-day record and more than a 12-fold increase from the levels seen in mid-January, when omicron became the dominant strain.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its travel notice for South Korea to level 4, the highest risk, advising Americans to avoid travel to the country or to make sure they are fully vaccinated if travelling is necessary.

Park Hyang, a senior South Korean Health Ministry official, said the country’s hospital resources remain stable, with less than 27% of intensive care units designated for Covid currently being occupied.