Health News at Your Fingertips

The standoff pitting truckers and other Covid-related malcontents with the Canadian government has worsened after their protests caused traffic at the busiest border crossing in North America to grind to a halt.

After weeks of protests in the Canadian capital Ottawa about vaccine mandates, 23 people were arrested for unlawful demonstrations on Tuesday and many trucks were immobilised, police said.

But despite the crackdown, trucks began blocking the Ambassador Bridge linking the cities of Detroit and Windsor late on Monday. On Tuesday, entry to Canada remained blocked while US-bound traffic slowed to a crawl.

Here’s the full story:

The World Health organisation has urged rich countries to pay their fair share of the money needed for its plan to conquer Covid-19 in developing countries by contributing $16bn as a matter of urgency.

The World Health Organization said the rapid cash injection into its access to covid tools accelerator (ACT-A) could finish off Covid as a global health emergency this year. The WHO-led plan is aimed at developing, producing, procuring and distributing tools to tackle the pandemic: vaccines, tests, treatments and personal protective equipment.

ACT-A needed $23.4bn for its programme for the year October 2021-September 2022 but only $800m has been raised so far.

Further north in mainland China, organisers of the Beijing Winter Olympics said on Wednesday that a total of five new Covid cases were detected among games-related personnel on Tuesday.

Three of the cases were found among new airport arrivals, Reuters reports. Two others were among those already in the “closed loop” bubble that separates all events personnel from the public, both of whom were classified as either an athlete or team official, the notice said.

An elderly man who died in Hong Kong after returning a positive test for Covid-19 could become the city’s first death potentially linked with the virus in five months as it struggles to cope with a worsening outbreak.

It was not clear whether his death would be classified as Hong Kong’s 214th Covid death as preliminary positive cases have to undergo further tests to be classified as positive.

The city is due to report a record of at least 1,160 new infections on Wednesday, according to broadcaster TVB, citing an unidentified source. It has recorded more than 2,600 cases over the past two weeks compared with just two in December.

The Chinese territory announced stringent new coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday and record new infections as it sticks to a controversial “dynamic zero” strategy employed by mainland China to suppress all coronavirus outbreaks.

Good morning/afternoon/evening wherever you are and welcome to our rolling coverage of developments in the coronavirus pandemic. To kick off, here are some of the main news lines from the past few hours:

• Traffic has ground to a halt at the busiest border crossing in North America, as Canadian truckers and others angry with vaccine mandates spread their protest beyond Ottawa.
• Police in New Zealand have arrested several anti-mandate protesters who have set up camp on the lawns of parliament.
• Organisers of the Beijing Winter Olympics said a total of five new Covid cases were detected among games-related personnel on Tuesday. Three of the cases were found among new airport arrivals.
• Hong Kong reported its first potential Covid death in five months after an elderly man who returned a positive test died on Tuesday. The global financial hub is expected to report a record of at least 1,160 new infections on Wednesday, broadcaster TVB reported.
• A global scheme to help poorer nations cope with Covid is “running on fumes” because of a budget shortfall, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups.
• New York governor Kathy Hochul plans to end her state’s mask mandate for most indoor public places on Wednesday, according to the New York Times, joining several states lifting face-covering rules in the weeks ahead as the latest COVID-19 surge loosens its grip.
• The drugmaker Pfizer made nearly $37bn from its Covid-19 vaccine last year – making it one of the most lucrative products in history – but bringing accusations from campaigners of “pandemic profiteering”. The company forecast another bumper year in 2022, with a big boost coming from its Covid-19 pill Paxlovid.
• France, Portugal and Greece have relaxed their entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers, with changes coming into effect in time for half-term.
  Vaccinated tourists travelling to Portugal will no longer need to provide a negative test result to enter, although unvaccinated passengers will.
• Qantas has seen a surge of booking from people travelling to Australia after the government said the ban on international arrivals would be lifted soon. Australia’s national carrier said bookings doubled on the first day following Monday’s announcement that borders would open on 21 February.