Health News at Your Fingertips

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.

We start in Germany, where the government’s Covid restrictions are set to end as case numbers have dropped slightly, according to a draft official plan seen by Agence France-Presse.

As a first step, contact restrictions will ease to allow people to meet privately. Currently private gatherings are limited to 10 people, or two households if an unvaccinated person is present. Access to shops will no longer be dependent on vaccination status.

From 4 March, access to restaurants will no longer be restricted to people who have received a booster jab as long as an unvaccinated person shows a negative test.

Finally, “broad restrictions of social, cultural and economic life should be gradually lifted by the start of spring on March 20, 2022,” the plan states.

Rules requiring employers to allow staff to work from home if possible will also be lifted at that date. Germany will then rely on “basic protection measures” including “in particular the wearing of medical masks” in public.

The plan is expected to be approved by German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of the federal states on Wednesday.

Germany reported 76,465 new daily coronavirus cases on Monday, down 20% from the same day last week.

Here is a brief round-up of today’s top Covid news stories:

• South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.
• The busiest US-Canada border crossing has reopened after protests against Covid restrictions closed it for almost a week. The Sunday night reopening of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan came as Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
• Anti-vaxxers in France are buying fake vaccine passes online to get around the country’s Covid restrictions. These are often promoted on mainstream social media platforms, research has revealed. Many buying the forgeries, which can be used across the European Union (EU), are being redirected from websites such as Instagram and Facebook to the Telegram encrypted messenger where they can be bought discreetly, according to a study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
• In the UK, families bereaved by Covid want Boris Johnson to relinquish control over which issues will be investigated in the pandemic public inquiry, alleging he is compromised by allegations of lockdown-breaking at Downing Street.
• Coronavirus case numbers have dropped slightly in Germany, as the government’s Covid expert panel called for a gradual easing of restrictions in Europe’s biggest economy.
• Moderna is reportedly in late stage talks with the UK government about investing in research and manufacturing and collaborating with the NHS on clinical trials, the Financial Times reports.
• New Zealand’s prime minister has said protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates were using “intimidation and harassment”, as authorities appeared to take a harsher stance toward the convoy of demonstrators that has disrupted the capital of Wellington for nearly a week.
• Sweden’s health agency recommended on Monday that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of Covid vaccine, the fourth jab in total, to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant.
• Hundreds of cars, campervans and trucks are on their way to a protest against Covid regulations in Brussels today where Belgian officials have already banned a demonstration following a weekend attempt in Paris.
• Hong Kong will extend the suspension of face-to-face classes by two weeks until 7 March, local broadcaster RTHK said on Monday.
• Taiwan aims to ease its strict Covid quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and reopen to the world, the government said on Monday.
• Japan’s government said on Monday it has agreed to buy an additional 10m doses of Covid vaccine from Pfizer to be delivered in March.

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

South Korea’s parliament on Monday approved plans to provide a special time for Covid patients to vote during the 9 March presidential election as the country grapples with a record-breaking Omicron surge.

The proposed revision of an election-related law will take effect if it is endorsed by the Cabinet Council and signed by the president — steps widely considered a formality since the governing and opposition parties have already agreed on the measure.

Voters diagnosed with highly infectious diseases such as Covid and others placed in quarantine would be allowed to visit polling stations and cast ballots after regular voting closes at 6pm, according to a copy of the legislation on the website of the National Assembly. The special voting time would close at 7.30pm.

Virus patients who have already applied for postal ballots in a now-ended registration period can still vote by mail, according to the National Election Commission.

Commission officials said they will work out details such as whether to install separate polling booths for sick voters and what protective gear polling officers would wear.

Hong Kong will extend the suspension of face-to-face classes by two weeks until 7 March, local broadcaster RTHK said on Monday.

It comes as as the global financial hub grapples to contain a surge in Covid infections, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong reported 2,071 new daily Covid infections on Monday, a new record, with 4,500 preliminary positive cases, authorities said.

Japan’s government said on Monday it has agreed to buy an additional 10m doses of Covid vaccine from Pfizer to be delivered in March.

Japan is already contracted to purchase 120m doses from Pfizer this year.

Including the extra shots and acceleration of shipments, Japan will import 46m Pfizer doses in March to aid in its booster shot program, health minister Shigeyuki Goto told reporters.

South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.

The surge has pushed daily cases to records, but widespread vaccination, with first booster shots received by more than 57% of the population of 52 million, has helped limit deaths and serious infections, Reuters reported.

High-risk groups will be the first to get the fourth dose, in effect a second booster shot, health minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a Covid response meeting.

“We’re planning to provide fourth shots to those who live in nursing homes and care facilities and others with declined immunisation, in light of a recent increase of infections among people aged 60 or older,” he said.

At least 44.22 million people, or 86.2% of the population, are considered fully vaccinated. Sunday’s 54,619 new cases took the tally of infections to 1,405,246, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country’s death toll rose by 21 to 7,102.

Sweden’s Health Agency recommended on Monday that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of Covid vaccine, the fourth jab in total, to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant.

The recommendation also covered all people living in nursing homes or who receive assisted living services at home. The second booster shot should be administered at least four months after the first booster jab, the agency said in a statement.

Sweden hit record levels of infections earlier this year as Omicron spread rapidly across the country.

But authorities are banking on booster shots and the milder symptoms of the variant to ease the pressure on healthcare and removed restrictions and scaled back testing this month.

The busiest US-Canada border crossing has reopened after protests against Covid restrictions closed it for almost a week.

The Sunday night reopening of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan came as Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.

The Detroit International Bridge company said “the Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again”.

The crossing normally carries 25% of all trade between the two countries, and the blockade on the Canadian side had disrupted business on both sides, with carmakers forced to shut down several factories.

Police in Windsor said earlier in the day that more than two dozen people had been peacefully arrested, seven vehicles towed and five seized as officers cleared the last demonstrators from near the bridge, which links the city – and numerous Canadian car factories – with Detroit.

New Zealand’s prime minister has said protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates were using “intimidation and harassment”, as authorities appeared to take a harsher stance toward the convoy of demonstrators that has disrupted the capital of Wellington for nearly a week.

Police initially let the protesters set up tents and camp on the grounds of New Zealand’s parliament before arresting 122 people on Thursday and then backing off again. The size of the protest dropped to a few hundred last week but increased again to about 3,000 over the weekend.

Speaking with reporters, prime minister Jacinda Ardern signalled the thinning patience of authorities, the Associated Press reported.

“I very clearly have a view on the protesters and the way that they’ve conducted their protest because it has moved beyond sharing a view to intimidation and harassment of the people around central Wellington,” she said. “That cannot be tolerated.”

Parliament speaker Trevor Mallard tried to make the protesters uncomfortable last week by turning on lawn sprinklers and blasting out decades-old Barry Manilow songs and the 1990s hit Macarena on a repeat loop.

Police on Monday told protesters to move their illegally parked vehicles, offering them alternative parking at a nearby stadium.

Coronavirus case numbers have dropped slightly in Germany, as the government’s Covid expert panel called for a gradual easing of restrictions in Europe’s biggest economy.

Germany reported 76,465 new daily coronavirus cases on Monday, down 20% from the same day last week. The seven-day infection incidence per 100,000 people also fell to 1,460 from 1,467 on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Germany’s expert panel said on Sunday the government needed to put plans in place for easing curbs, given the current wave of infections was expected to flatten in the coming weeks, but it warned against loosening restrictions too soon.

“Thanks to the milder course of the disease, we are entering a new phase of the pandemic, which allows prospects for gradual opening,” Hendrik Wuest, the prime minister of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, told Welt newspaper.

The German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of the federal states are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss possible easing.

Taiwan aims to ease its strict Covid quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and reopen to the world, the government said on Monday.

Since the pandemic began two years ago, Taiwan has succeeded in keeping reported cases of Covid below 20,000, having enforced a blanket two-week quarantine for everyone arriving on the island even as large parts of the rest of the world have ditched theirs, Reuters reported.

Speaking at a meeting with senior health officials, Premier Su Tseng-chang said that even though there could be further domestic infections the government was “quite confident” in its anti-pandemic measures.

“The government must also take into account livelihoods and economic development, gradually return to normal life, and step out to the world,” his office cited him as saying.

Hundreds of cars, campervans and trucks are on their way to a protest against Covid regulations in Brussels today where Belgian officials have already banned a demonstration following a weekend attempt in Paris.

Around 1,300 vehicles from across France had arrived near the French border town of Lille by late Sunday, according to police and as reported by Agence France-Presse.

Some protesters brandished French flags and chanted “We won’t give up” and “Freedom, freedom.”

Ninety-seven people were arrested at the weekend in Paris where thousands of demonstrators defied a ban on attempting to blockade the French capital. The demonstrators took aim at the “vaccine pass” required to enter restaurants, cafes and many other public venues across the country.

Belgian authorities have banned all demonstrations in the capital with “motorised vehicles” and said they had taken measures to prevent the blocking of the Brussels region.

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo advised the demonstrators to abandon their plans to come to Brussels.

I say to those who come from abroad: look at the rules in Belgium. We never had rules that were too hard and we don’t have so many anymore. So complain at home.”

Checks are planned at the border and vehicles coming to the capital despite the ban will be diverted, Belgian authorities warned.

Brussels airport also advised travellers to take precautions on Monday and come by train for fear of blocking access routes.

The self-proclaimed “freedom convoy” is one of several worldwide inspired by a truckers’ standoff with authorities in Canada over vaccine mandates.

Moderna Inc is reportedly in late stage talks with the UK government about investing in research and manufacturing and collaborating with the NHS on clinical trials, the Financial Times reports.

The US biotech company is close to agreeing a significant investment and, if concluded, the deal would be a “key element” of the UK’s post-Brexit strategy to become a global hub for the life sciences, according to a person familiar with the matter, the publication added.

UK health secretary Sajid Javid met with Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive, for talks in Boston late last week.

“The UK is ideally placed to become a life sciences superpower, and collaboration with world leading companies is crucial to this,” Javid tweeted on Friday, alongside a photo of him and Bancel.

Moderna is considering sites in London, Oxford and Cambridge, to put it in prime position to collaborate on research into new vaccines and therapeutics with top scientists, one of the people told the publication.

Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you on the blog to bring you all the latest Covid developments from across the world.

Let’s jump in with the news that England has delayed the announcement of a plan to expand Covid vaccinations to all children aged five to 11 amid an apparent impasse between the government and its vaccinations watchdog.

While the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) made its decision more than a week ago, Downing Street is continuing to review the verdict. A decision is now expected to be announced on 21 February, when Boris Johnson unveils the government’s long-term Covid plan.

On the other side of the world, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has said an “onslaught” of Covid-19 infections has dealt a heavy blow and overwhelmed capacity to deal with the virus as daily cases surge to record highs.

“The onslaught of the fifth wave of the epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong and overwhelmed the city’s capacity of handling,” she said.

Daily infections have multiplied 13 times over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February to more than 1,300 on 13 February, with authorities scrambling to control the deepening outbreak.

Here’s a more detailed snap of how Covid is unfolding across regions around the world.

Europe:

• The announcement of a plan to expand England’s Covid vaccinations to all children aged five to 11 has been delayed amid an apparent impasse between the government and its vaccinations watchdog. While the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) made its decision more than a week ago, Downing Street is reviewing the verdict. A decision is now expected to be announced on 21 February, when Boris Johnson unveils the government’s long-term Covid plan.
• A future variant of Covid-19 could be much more dangerous and cause far higher numbers of deaths and cases of serious illness than Omicron, leading UK scientists have warned. As a result, many of them say that caution needs to be taken in lifting the last Covid restrictions in England, as Boris Johnson plans to do next week.
• France has dropped its Covid testing requirement for vaccinated travellers arriving from the UK. The French interior ministry said that from 12 February, travellers will not need to test as long as they are vaccinated according to European regulations.
• Anti-vaxxers in France are reportedly buying fake vaccine passes online to get around the country’s Covid restrictions, which are often promoted on mainstream social media platforms, research has revealed.
• Demonstrators against Covid-19 restrictions in France and the Netherlands staged protests on Saturday inspired by the “freedom convoy” demonstrations in Canada. In France police fired teargas at demonstrators on the Champs Élysées in Paris shortly after a convoy protesting against restrictions made it into the capital. A convoy of vehicles from across the Netherlands also brought The Hague’s city centre to a standstill earlier in the day.
• Germany hopes the arrival of 34m Nuvaxovid (Novavax) doses in 2022 will convince many to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Around 4m doses should be delivered in the first quarter, a spokesperson for the health ministry said.

Asia:

• Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has said an “onslaught” of Covid-19 infections has dealt a heavy blow and overwhelmed capacity to deal with the virus as daily cases surge to record highs. Daily infections have multiplied 13 times over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February to more than 1,300 on 13 February, with authorities scrambling to control the deepening outbreak.
• Hong Kong authorities also said supplies of vegetables and chilled poultry to the global financial hub may be temporarily disrupted after some mainland goods vehicle drivers preliminarily tested positive for Covid-19. Hong Kong imports 90% of its food, with the mainland its most important source, especially for fresh food.
• Vietnam will remove its Covid-19 restrictions on international passenger flights with all markets starting 15 February with no limitation on the number of flights.
• South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.
• Singapore has granted interim approval for Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine with the first batch of the Nuvaxovid vaccine expected to arrive in the next few months, Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said on Monday.
• China’s medical products regulator has given conditional approval for Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to treat adults who have mild to moderate Covid and high risk of progressing to a severe condition, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country.

Americas:

• The busiest US-Canada border crossing has reopened after protests against Covid-19 restrictions cumulated in a six-day blockade. Canadian police cleared protesters from the Ambassador bridge linking the country to the United States on Sunday allowing North America’s busiest trade route to reopen.