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Officials in Australia’s New South Wales state will assess the need for further lockdown restrictions in Sydney after reporting more Covid-19 infections. New Jersey had zero in-hospital coronavirus deaths for the first time since July, Governor Phil Murphy said on Twitter.
The head of the World Health Organization warned that the delta variant first detected in India is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far” and has spread in at least 85 countries, the Associated Press reported. U.S. health officials paused distribution of Eli Lilly & Co.’s combination antibody therapy because of fears it won’t combat two increasingly common coronavirus variants.
Britain’s health minister is under mounting pressure to resign for breaking the same distancing rules he helped draw up. In Brazil, a pick up in vaccine deliveries should allow the country to immunize all adults in the next three months, according to a member of a group of executives making a push to boost inoculations in one of the world’s worst-hit countries.
Key Developments:
New Cases in Australia’s Victoria, NSW States (10:25 a.m. HK)
New South Wales recorded 29 new local cases in the 24 hours through 8 p.m. Friday, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Saturday, adding 17 had already been announced previously. Some 82 local infections have been detected since the first case in the current cluster came to light in Sydney.
Berejiklian said officials will evaluate health advice to determine the need for more restrictions to combat the virus. The outbreak of the delta variant has forced at least 500,000 residents of Sydney into a partial lockdown for a week.
Australia’s Victoria state reported four new cases in the past 24 hours, one locally acquired and three from overseas, all currently quarantining. In New Zealand, there were no new community cases overnight, according to reports.
Health workers at Bondi Beach Drive-through Covid-19 Clinic in Sydney, on June 26.
Photographer: Jenny Evans/Getty Images
Thai Clusters Grow (10 a.m. HK)
Thailand reported 4,161 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day tally this month, as new clusters continued to emerge in capital Bangkok and its adjoining provinces. While Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has resisted calls for a lockdown of the capital to quell the outbreak, his government on Friday ordered residential camps for construction workers in Bangkok and four other provinces with high numbers of Covid cases to be locked down for a month from Monday.
Construction sites and prisons have emerged as the biggest clusters of infections in Thailand, which is suffering from its worst wave so far. More than 211,500 new cases have been detected since early April, official data showed Saturday. The country also reported 51 new deaths, taking the cumulative tally to 1,870.
Some British Olympic Athletes Skip Vaccines (4:15 p.m. NY)
A small number of British athletes declined Covid vaccinations before the Tokyo Games because they’re worried about the potential of side effects impairing their performance, the Times of London reported, citing Andy Anson, chief executive officer of the British Olympic Association.
All 375 athletes and 500 support staff will undergo a PCR test 14 days before flying out and take regular lateral flow tests during the build-up to the Games.
Iceland to End Covid Restrictions Saturday (2:58 p.m. NY)
Iceland is abolishing all domestic Covid-19 restrictions, with officials saying 87% of those 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose.
The island nation, with a population of about 369,000, has seen 6,637 cases, with 30 deaths. About 48% of those 16 and over are fully vaccinated.
Iceland could be one of the first European countries to end restrictions, Health Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir said in announcing the move. The limits will officially end on Saturday.
U.S. Halts Shipments of Lilly Antibody Combo (1:55 p.m. NY)
U.S. health officials paused distribution of Eli Lilly & Co.’s combination antibody therapy because of fears it won’t combat two increasingly common coronavirus variants.
Resistance to the antibody treatment was detected among the gamma and beta variants of the virus, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical providers should use other antibody treatments from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc instead, they said.
Lilly had developed the treatment consisting of two antibodies, called bamlanivimab and etesevimab, to safeguard against variants, and the government halt highlights growing concern about how mutated forms of the virus could undermine medical tools. The gamma and beta variants together make up more than 11% of sequenced U.S. cases, according to the statement.
U.K. Officials Want Health Minister to Quit (1:37 p.m. NY)
Senior U.K. officials in Boris Johnson’s government have lost faith in Health Secretary Matt Hancock and believe he should resign after being photographed embracing a top adviser in breach of pandemic rules.
Hancock apologized and Johnson is standing by him. But senior Conservative figures, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe there is no way Hancock can keep his job. One minister said the hypocrisy of flouting rules Hancock himself helped create would finish his career.
Matt Hancock
Photographer: Hollie Adams/Getty Images
WHO Calls Delta ‘Most Transmissible’ Among Variants (1:30 p.m. NY)
The head of the World Health Organization warned that the delta variant is “the most transmissible of the variants identified so far” and has spread in at least 85 countries, the Associated Press reported.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference Friday that the lack of vaccines in poor countries has worsened the pace of transmission with the delta variant first seen in India, according to AP.
President Joe Biden on Thursday called delta the “new dangerous variant” and said it’s currently the most common variant in the U.S., and encouraged unvaccinated people to get their shots.
Chile in Talks with Moderna, Sputnik (12:35 p.m. NY)
Chile is in talks with Moderna and Sputnik for a potential third dose of vaccines, Rodrigo Yanez, trade vice minister, told Radio Pauta.
Sinovac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Cansino are the vaccines that are currently being used in Chile. The country has contracts to receive as many as 40 million vaccine doses by the end of the year and that number could increase with a third dose, Yanez said.
A healthcare worker views a monitor inside the room of a Covid-19 patient at a hospital in Santiago, Chile, on June 22.
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg
U.K.’s Large Events Test Shows No Outbreaks (12:20 p.m. NY)
No substantial Covid-19 outbreaks were reported among any of the nine pilot events -- including the Brit Awards and the FA Cup soccer final -- included in the first phase of a government study into whether large crowds can safely gather again.
The Events Research Programme included a total of 58,000 participants at events held in April and May at various venues across the country, with only 28 virus cases reported, according to a statement published Friday by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It noted, however, that evidence of direct transmission at the events was “challenging to determine” because of a low uptake of PCR testing before and after.
Face coverings, ventilation and testing were all found to control and reduce transmission of coronavirus at large events, according to the study. The British government has reportedly faced criticism for deciding to allow more than 60,000 people inside Wembley Stadium next month for the last stages of soccer’s European Championship.
Brazil Can Vaccinate All Adults by September (12:15 p.m. NY)
A pick up in vaccine deliveries should allow Brazil to immunize all adults in the next three months, said Walter Schalka, who’s part of a group of executives making a push to boost vaccinations in one of the world’s worst-hit countries.
The group, known as “United for Vaccines,” estimates 160 million shots will arrive between July and September. That should be enough to cover all Brazilians over 18 with one dose.
A health worker prepares a dose of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Covid-19 vaccine for a resident in a car in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 18.
Photographer: Rodrigo Capote/Bloomberg
“Our role is to encourage people to take the vaccine and also help local governments with infrastructure and material to make this happen,” Schalka, the chief executive officer at pulp giant Suzano SA, said in an interview.
Seychelles Extends Curbs Indefinitely (10:58 a.m. NY)
Seychelles extended curbs imposed on movement and gatherings indefinitely as the world’s most-vaccinated nation fights a persistently high number of infections.
The palm-fringed Indian Ocean archipelago has seen cases increase since early May even though 70% of its 98,000 people are fully vaccinated with either Sinopharm or AstraZeneca vaccines. It had rushed to conduct an inoculation campaign and reopen to tourism, the lifeblood of its economy.
New Jersey Reports Zero Hospital Deaths (10:28 a.m. NY)
No Covid deaths were reported in New Jersey hospitals yesterday for the first time since July 30, Governor Phil Murphy said on Twitter.
NYC Schools Close With Lowest Covid Level Yet (10:20 a.m. NY)
New York City schools ended their regular school year today with the lowest level of positive test results since the pandemic began in March 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
About 1.5 million tests have been conducted on students and staff in the schools, with a positivity rate reported Friday of 0.03%, de Blasio said. The mayor attributed the low infection rate to the city’s increasing numbers of vaccinated residents. Students will still be required to wear masks in summer school sessions, he said during an interview on WNYC radio.
“Right now the working assumption is abundance of caution,” de Blasio said. “You have vaccinated and unvaccinated children in the same place, it’s the safe thing to do. If the trajectory continues downward with Covid, I wouldn’t be surprised if some time later this summer, before school starts, the mask mandate comes off.”
India Evaluating Delta-Plus Variant (9:30 a.m. NY)
India has found 48 cases of the delta-plus variant across 11 states, but authorities say it is too early to tell whether it poses a significant threat like the strain that drove the nation’s devastating second wave, swamping the health system and overwhelming crematoriums.
A mutation of the delta variant that’s seen as 50% more transmissible than other strains, delta-plus has been found mostly in the state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital Mumbai, as well as Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The cases were found by sequencing 45,000 samples.
— With assistance by Sunil Jagtiani, Linus Chua, Tony Czuczka, Felix Tam, Antony Sguazzin, Netty Idayu Ismail, John Boudreau, Michael Arnold, Suzi Ring, Bibhudatta Pradhan, James Paton, Henry Goldman, Fumbuka Ng'Wanakilala, Emily Ashton, Khuleko Siwele, Vincent Del Giudice, Bruce Rolfsen, Jeannie Baumann, and John Lauerman
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Virus Outbreak: News and Analysis From June 26 - Bloomberg
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