China Says Zero New Local Cases; U.S. Deaths Rise: Virus Update

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China Says Zero New Local Cases; U.S. Deaths Rise: Virus Update

© Bloomberg  Arkansas Faces ICU Bed Shortage As Delta Variant Fuels Covid Surge

China reported no new locally transmitted daily Covid-19 infections. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen received her first shot of a  domestically developed  vaccine. New Zealand reported 35 new cases in the community after extending a nationwide lockdown.

U.S. average daily fatalities ticked over 1,000 over the weekend, apparently for the first time since March, at the tail of last winter’s surge. Average weekly cases now surpass 1 million as the delta variant continues to spread, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. 

The expected full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of Covid-19 vaccines could allow more businesses and institutions to impose vaccine requirements, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said. Another Florida school district defied Governor Ron DeSantis’s ban on local mask mandates.

Key Developments:

Global Tracker : Cases top 211.7 million; deaths pass 4.4 million

Vaccine Tracker : More than 4.93 billion doses administered

U.S. Spotlight:  Delta wave in U.S. northeast may be nearing peak

A  Covid booster  is the privilege scientists say will curb delta

Tokyo’s  Covid playbook  offers a lesson for Beijing 2022 Olympics

Science can’t keep up with virus, creating  worry for vaccinated

Surge No Reason to Delay Reopening: Morrison (9:37 a.m. HK)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is doubling down on his strategy of looking to abandon Covid-Zero when full vaccination rates reach 70% of adults. 

Sydney’s delta outbreak shows no signs of slowing, with 818 new cases detected in New South Wales on Monday. Even so, Morrison told reporters in Canberra that the surge was not a reason to delay reopening -- and that he wants all states and territories to abandon lockdowns when inoculation thresholds are met. 

“We should prepare for it,” Morrison said of reopening. “We should not fear it. We should embrace it. And we should move forward together.”

New Zealand Reports 35 New Community Cases (9:27 a.m. HK)

The country reported nearly three dozen new infections, the Ministry of Health said, bringing the total number of cases in its community outbreak to 107. Of the 35 new cases reported Monday, 33 were in Auckland and two were in the capital, Wellington.

“It’s not unexpected to see a rise in daily case numbers at this stage,” the ministry said in its statement. “At its peak last year, New Zealand had a daily total of 89 new cases.” The cases come after a nationwide lockdown was extended through midnight on August 24 as New Zealand and other countries battle the highly-contagious delta strain of Covid.

Thailand Sees Fewest Cases in Weeks (9:12 a.m. H.K.)

Thailand added the fewest number of new Covid cases in more than three weeks after quasi-lockdowns in the capital Bangkok and other virus hotspots entered its second month.

The Southeast Asian nation, battling its most severe outbreak since the pandemic began reported 17,491 new cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest single-day increase since July 30, official data showed Monday. It also reported 242 deaths, taking the cumulative fatalities to 9,562.

China Reports Zero New Local Daily Infections (9:07 a.m. HK)

China had zero locally transmitted cases and 21 imported coronavirus infections on Aug. 22, the National Health Commission said in a statement, as the country has worked to control a wave of delta variant cases. It also reported 16 imported asymptomatic infections. 

China’s model shows what it takes to get Covid under control, and raises questions about whether other nations would be willing and able to follow the same draconian steps. 

Taiwan’s Tsai Gets Homegrown Shot (8:14 a.m. HK) 

Taiwan begins administering its first  domestically developed  Covid-19 vaccines as it seeks to rely more on local options after struggling to secure sufficient supply of the major international shots.

President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday got the vaccine developed by Taipei-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation. The company is yet to complete phase-3 trials for its vaccine but has been granted an emergency use authorization to begin inoculations. 

U.K. Testing Companies Face Removal Over Misleading Prices (7:01 a.m. HK)

Nearly one-fifth of companies advertising Covid tests for travelers coming back to the U.K. from abroad  face removal  from the government’s list of providers over misleading prices.

More than 80 private travel testing companies will be issued a two-strike warning and could be removed, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said Monday. The new action marks a clamp-down on “cowboy” practices, he added.

Singapore Seeks to Broaden Travel Rules (5:12 p.m. NY) 

Singapore is seeking to add more countries to its vaccinated travel lane program in a signal to the world it’s  committed to reopening.

After starting to allow vaccinated visitors from Germany and Brunei from next month, the city-state will “work from there to see which countries and how we can go about it,” Minister of Transport S. Iswaran told Bloomberg.

Florida School District Defies Governor (4:06 p.m. NY)

A seventh Florida school district is defying Governor Ron DeSantis’s ban on local mask mandates. Rocky Hanna, superintendent of schools in Leon County, which includes the capital of Tallahassee, said 245 students were infected in the first week back at school. On Friday, more than 900 students were in quarantine, he said, in announcing the mask mandate for grades K-8. 

“I do have an obligation to uphold the laws of the state of Florida,” Hanna said on Facebook. “I have a greater obligation, however, to protect the health, safety and welfare of the children of Tallahassee.” 

Schools May Become Unsafe, Ex-FDA Head Says (12:53 p.m. NY)

The U.S. is diagnosing “just a small fraction” of children with Covid-19, and schools now reopening around the nation could become centers for broader transmission, said Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration. 

Tens of thousands of students are already in quarantine in states including Florida and Mississippi. 

“It’s proving to be hard to control in schools,” Gottlieb, a Pfizer Inc. board member, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I think that this is a harbinger of the challenges that we’re going to face nationally as schools reopen. The schools could become focal points of community transmission and can become environments that aren’t safe for children.”

Texas Governor Recovers from Covid Bout (11:53 a.m. NY)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Saturday he is now testing negative for Covid-19, after announcing last week he contracted a breakthrough infection. 

Murthy Touts Full Vaccine Approval (11:39 a.m. NY)

The expected full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of Covid-19 vaccines could help businesses and institutions impose more vaccine requirements, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said. 

“For businesses and universities that have been thinking about putting vaccine requirements in place,” Murthy said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” full approval “will actually help them to move forward.” The FDA is expected to give full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as  early as Monday . 

Murthy also said that people who’ve been vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose shot will “likely” need a booster. But, he said, “We are waiting on some data from the company about a second dose of J&J, so the FDA can fully evaluate the safety and efficacy of that dose.” 

U.S. Daily Deaths Rise Above 1,000 (8:52 a.m. NY)

U.S. average daily fatalities ticked over 1,000 on Saturday, apparently for the first time since March, at the tail of last winter’s surge, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

Deaths are a lagging indicator, growing weeks after a surge in Covid-19 cases. While fatalities are accelerating as the U.S. is battered by the delta variant, they remain a fraction of the peak last winter. Average daily fatalities rose to more than 3,400 in January, the data show. Now 60% of those eligible in the U.S. are fully vaccinated.

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