Global Virus Update: Variant spreads in US; NYC hospitalisations rise

British medics will be able to give Covid-19 shots to hundreds of thousands of people every day by 15 January, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Japan declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding areas, trying to stem infections that hit a daily record in the capital. China banned all vehicles and people from leaving the city of Shijiazhuang to the south of Beijing after confirming almost 200 coronavirus infections.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases pass 87.5 million; deaths exceed 1.8 million


• Vaccine Tracker: More than 15.9 million shots given worldwide


• US vaccine rollout hindered by faulty coordination, messaging


• China health expert defends delay in confirming Covid-19 threat


• Airlines try ultra-cheap fares to get the world flying again


• What to know about allergic reactions to the vaccine: QuickTake

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Spain surpasses two million cases

Spain’s total cases rose by 6,498 to surpass two million, according to data published by the health ministry on Thursday. The total number of fatalities reached 51,675.

The country will start receiving 600,000 doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine in the coming days, Health Minister Salvador Illa said.

Illinois surpasses one million infections 

Illinois passed another “tragic” milestone by logging more than one million coronavirus cases, Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement.

On Thursday, the state reported 8,757 cases and 177 deaths. That pushed the total to 1,008,045 confirmed and probable cases, and 17,272 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“As this disease continues to wreak havoc on our nation – with the United States setting another record for the most Covid-19 deaths in a day just yesterday – it is critical that we take extra caution today and in the months ahead,” Pritzker said. “Now that vaccine distribution has begun, we can see the light at the end of this difficult time.”

Texas, Pennsylvania report new virus variant

Texas and Pennsylvania became the latest states to report cases of the more transmissible variant of the coronavirus.

In Texas, the variant was detected in an adult man from Harris County, home to the country’s fourth-largest city of Houston, who has no history of travel, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“The fact that this person had no travel history suggests this variant is already circulating in Texas,” said Dr John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner.

In Pennsylvania, a person in Dauphin County tested positive after “known international exposure”, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said in a statement. The person had mild symptoms that were resolved while isolated at home.

At least five other US states have reported cases of the variant.

NYC’s De Blasio blames state for thousands of unused vaccines

New York City is looking into legal options to challenge state vaccination rules that have left thousands of Covid-19 doses unused.

Health officials have thousands of shots available “without arms to give injections to”, Mitchell Katz, chief executive officer of NYC Health and Hospitals, said in a Thursday briefing.

Now that every eligible worker in the city’s 11 public hospitals who wants to be vaccinated has received a shot, Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing Governor Andrew Cuomo to give the city the freedom to expand eligibility for police, firefighters, correction officers and people over 75 to get inoculated. So far, Governor Cuomo has resisted.

UK aims to vaccinate at least 200,000 people a day

British medics will be able to give Covid-19 shots to hundreds of thousands of people every day by 15 January, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, as he set out details of the UK mass vaccination plan.

“We are in a race against time, but we are doing everything we can to vaccinate as many people as possible across the UK,” Johnson said at a televised press conference in London.

France reports more cases of virus variant

France said it now has found 19 confirmed cases of the more transmissible UK Covid-19 variant and three cases of the South African variant, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Health authorities are investigating two probable clusters of infection with the UK variant in the western region of Brittany and the Paris region.

Authorities found a confirmed case of the UK variant in the Paris region that they haven’t been able to link to any travel history.

North Carolina reaches records

North Carolina infections rose to a daily record of 10,398, as did total hospitalisations, to 3,960. Another 137 people died, state data showed.

Arizona deaths rise to new high

Arizona on Thursday reported a daily record of Covid-19 fatalities for the second time this week. The 297 deaths brought the state’s toll from the pandemic to 9,741. The state Department of Health Services also reported 9,913 new cases for a total of 584,593.

Italy cases, deaths slow

Italy registered 18,020 new virus cases on Thursday, from 20,331 the day before. Daily deaths declined too, with 414 fatalities reported, compared with 548 on Wednesday, while the positivity rate rose to 14.9% as fewer tests were carried out.

Italy has extended through to mid-January some curbs imposed during the holiday season, including a limit of two guests per household.

Arthritis drugs reduced Covid-19 deaths, ICU time, finds study

A pair of arthritis medicines, including Roche Holding AG’s Actemra, reduced mortality and shortened recovery times in intensive care for Covid-19 patients in a study, opening the possibility for another treatment option for the severely ill.

Some 27% of critically ill patients who got the arthritis drugs in the study died in the hospital, compared with about 36% of those who didn’t get the drugs, an Imperial College London research team said. Patients who got the Roche drug or Kevzara, a similar medicine from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, were able to be released from the hospital an average of a week earlier, the study found.

NYC hospitalisations highest since May

New York City’s Covid-19 hospitalisations rose to their highest rate since May, even as new cases in the city dipped in recent days.

The city had 3,107 people in hospital as of 5 January, according to state data. That’s an increase of 52 patients over the previous day and the most since May. Hospitals admitted 273 people on Tuesday, and the rate of admissions has climbed to 4.28 per 100,000 residents, well above the city’s goal of keeping that rate below 2 per 100,000.

New cases on a seven-day average declined to 3,870 from 4,505 as of Jan. 5, according to data from the city’s health department.

Covid-19 vaccine is stored at -80 degrees Celcius in the pharmacy at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images)

UAE breaks record

The United Arab Emirates reported its highest daily number of new cases with 3,988 on Thursday, for a total of 221,754. The country has seen a spike in virus numbers in recent weeks as it aims to vaccinate half its residents in the first quarter.

Earlier in the day, the UAE said it began phase-three clinical trials of the Russian adenovirus-based vaccine Sputnik V. The Gulf nation has approved the Pfizer BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the one by Sinopharm unit China National Biotec Group.

Portugal may tighten restrictions

Portugal may tighten restrictions next week after reporting a record increase in virus cases on Wednesday, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference. The government on Thursday reported 9,927 new confirmed coronavirus cases in a day, less than Wednesday’s record of 10,027 new infections.

Sinovac Covid shot 78% effective in Brazil trial

The vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech was shown to be 78% effective against Covid-19 in late-stage Brazil trials, newspaper Folha de São Paulo reported, citing data presented to the country’s health regulator.

Conflicting and incomplete information from Sinovac’s trials last month created confusion over how effective the shot is. Researchers in Brazil delayed releasing complete data on the so-called CoronaVac shot in late December, saying only that it was found to be more than 50% effective.

The release of more definitive data was delayed because the company needed to reconcile results from different trials using varying protocols, according to a person familiar with the matter.

South Africa virus strain more transmissible

The new coronavirus strain identified in South Africa appears to be more transmissible than earlier variants and has accelerated the onset of a second wave of infections, according to a member of a panel of scientists advising the country’s health minister.

Yet there’s no evidence that it causes a more severe or different form of the disease, and hospitalisation and mortality rates as a proportion of the number of infections are lower than during the first wave in July and August, said Ian Sanne, an infectious diseases doctor and head of Right to Care, a non-profit that provides treatment to people with HIV and associated diseases.

France Poised to boost aid to virus-hit firms

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire plans to extend aid to bigger companies in areas most hurt by restrictions to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is no question of withdrawing aid for sectors hit by the health crisis — on the contrary, it’s a question of strengthening aid to better protect them,” Le Maire said, addressing the Institut Montaigne think tank.

South Africa seals plan for first vaccine batches

South Africa agreed to a deal to receive the country’s first coronavirus vaccines this month and next, the first phase of a plan the government says will inoculate two-thirds of the population by the end of 2021.

An initial 1.5 million doses will come from The Serum Institute of India, which is producing the version developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Thursday. They will be reserved for health workers, and negotiations are ongoing with other manufacturers about further supplies, he said.

Irish hospitalisations pass 1,000 for first time

Ireland is now treating 1,022 Covid-19 hospitalised patients, the highest figure since the pandemic began. About 94% of intensive care beds were occupied on Wednesday night, though hospitals still have so-called surge capacity in reserve.

The country announced new curbs on Wednesday, including the closing of schools and most construction sites, adding to what was already one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.

China locks down city of 11 million

Authorities in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province close to Beijing, banned all vehicles and people from leaving the city amid a cluster of virus cases, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

There have been 90 confirmed cases and more than 100 asymptomatic infections detected in Shijiazhuang and nearby Xingtai, prompting authorities to begin mass testing of more than 10 million people over the coming three to four days. Ma Xiaowei, head of China’s National Health Commission, called the outbreak in Hebei “very severe”.

Infections spiked in Hebei after the New Year holiday, with the first confirmed case reported on Saturday. The patient, a 61-year-old woman, visited relatives and attended events before being diagnosed.

Germany’s Merkel sees toughest months ahead

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “the most difficult months” of the pandemic are still to come as daily fatalities in Germany topped 1,000 for a second day. “At the same time, there is a glimmer of hope in that vaccines are now available,” Merkel said during a virtual event of her conservative bloc.

Total infections rose by another 26,663 in the 24 hours through to Thursday morning, to 1.84 million, while deaths have more than doubled since the start of December to almost 38,000.

Japan declares virus emergency for Tokyo

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency covering the Japanese capital, Tokyo, and the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. It will be imposed from Friday until 7 February. Tokyo announced it had found 2,447 cases of coronavirus on Thursday, a record.

Japan’s emergency doesn’t imply the kind of lockdowns seen in some parts of Europe, and the government is seeking far less stringent measures than under its previous emergency in 2020, which triggered the worst economic contraction on record.

London ICUs ‘two weeks away from capacity’

London hospitals could run out of beds for patients in need of intensive care within two weeks as the number of Covid-19 cases soars, news service HSJ reported, citing a presentation by NHS England.

The report emerged after the UK confirmed 1,041 new coronavirus deaths within 28 days of a positive test on Wednesday, the highest daily increase since April. There are now 30,074 patients with the virus in UK hospitals.

The UK entered a third nationwide lockdown this week in response to the steep rise in Covid-19 infections. DM

— With assistance by Ian Fisher, Thomas Mulier, Naomi Kresge, Neil Callanan, Dara Doyle, Joao Lima, Dana Khraiche, Henry Goldman, Flavia Rotondi, Flynn McRoberts, Rudy Ruitenberg, Stacie Sherman, Catarina Saraiva, Shruti Singh, and Chris Reiter.