HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Hong Kong researchers have found evidence that pet hamsters can spread Covid-19 to people, and linked the animals to human infections in the city.
The study, published on Saturday (Jan 29) in The Lancet as a preprint and not yet peer-reviewed, provided the first documented evidence of hamster-to-human transmission of the Delta variant.
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and the city's government found two independent cases of such transmission, after testing viral swabs and blood samples from animals collected from local pet shops.
The hamsters in question were infected around Nov 21, before they were imported to Hong Kong, suggesting pet animal trade may be a pathway that facilitates Covid-19 to spread across borders, according to the study.
"This study reveals that pet hamsters can acquire Sars-CoV-2 infection in real-life settings and can transmit the virus back to humans," the researchers said in the study.
"The Sars-CoV-2 circulating in hamsters can allow sustainable virus transmission in humans."
It advised members of the public earlier this month to surrender hamsters purchased on or after Dec 22 for "humane dispatch", after some pet store workers and customers tested positive for the virus, and some of the animals imported from the Netherlands at the store tested preliminary positive.
China demands labelling of foreign actors in bid to push non-Chinese off screen South China Morning Post
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Since the pandemic started, we have embraced online shopping (and food deliveries), reviewed our relationships, lived more mindfully, led a more sustainable lifestyle, and overhauled our eating habits. Suffice it to say that no one has emerged the same after nearly two years of living in the pandemic.
Health has been topmost on the minds of most people. At the same time, the issue of sustainability has also been getting more airtime than before. So when I discovered Vitable, an Australian supplements company that prides itself on sustainable practices, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Isn't it great that Mother Earth does not take a beating in my bid to stay in tiptop health?
If you are considering a more sustainable approach towards your supplements intake, read on to learn more about my subscription journey with Vitable and see if this is for you.
What's Vitable?
In a nutshell, Vitable is a health supplements company built on sustainable practices, offering a “personalised yet accessible approach to nutrition, coupled with honest advice”.
This quiz takes stock of your lifestyle needs and your unique health goals to formulate the list of supplements bringing you closer to your health objectives. After that, you get a personalised vitamin recommendation with a detailed explanation of what each ingredient can do for you.
Step 3: Confirm the proposed list of supplements, key in your details, make payment, and your health package is on its way! It typically takes around a week for your package to arrive.
The customised Vitable package comes with a booklet in a compostable box. PHOTO: Cadence Loh
Here’s what I like about Vitable:
1.Transparency
The brand prides itself on its transparency, from its formulas and ingredients to the science that goes behind it. Looking for vitamins, minerals, probiotics, herbs or speciality supplements, Vitable’s product library will tell you all about each ingredient’s functions and how you can build your personalised pack. According to their website, all claims are supported by scientific studies. In addition, their products are touted as free of nasties such as GMOs, artificial additives and preservatives.
2. Handy and convenient
One of the biggest pluses for me is that my monthly Vitable supplies come in 30 individually-packed sachets. I ordered four different supplements, and all four tablets are packed in one lightweight, plastic-free sachet. So convenient! Depending on my activity each day, all I need is one sachet to go into my bag, and I take off for the day. I can be out for breakfast, gym or even overseas and not miss a single dosage. Goodbye, heavy and bulky bottles. On my recent 23-day overseas trip, I did not have to go through the trouble of counting the exact number of pills needed for the duration of my trip. Imagine how tedious it is to pack four to six different supplements. You do the Maths! Not only did I save time, but my precious luggage weight limit can also make way for other essentials.
3. Personalised home-compostable sachets
The Vitable sachets are imprinted with my name. PHOTO: Cadence Loh
I no longer have to deal with the niggling worry about the harm towards the environment each time I throw out a plastic supplement bottle. Each Vitable sachet is 100 per cent home-compostable, while their pouches are made of plant-based cellulose produced from sustainably-harvested Eucalyptus trees. And, they come with my name on them. Wonderful if you have other family members who are on their Vitable journey as well.
4.Cost savings
Who doesn’t like to save more? As a direct-to-consumer (hello, no middlemen mark-ups!), Vitable takes away the unnecessary costs and pass those savings to the consumer. Each sachet costs less than AU$1 a day! In each of my sachet, I had four different types of supplements. How's that for affordability?
5.Staying on track
Whether you are old-school and prefer hard copies or embrace the convenience of paperless technology, Vitable utilises a double-pronged approach to ensure you stay on top of your vitamin routine. Your package comes with a little booklet indicating your vitamin choices, what they can do for your health, as well as a simple 30-day tracker (on the back of the same hard copy booklet) for you to put a tick on every day you take your vitamins.
The Vitable app helps you track your health progress as well as earn points. PHOTO: Cadence Loh
Otherwise, the Vitable app is a fantastic tracker for keeping tabs on your daily supplement consumption. Best of all, there’s an Energy and Sleep tracker to monitor your health progress, as well as an alarm function to give you that daily health nudge. On top of that, you get expert advice on your supplements journey. For example, did you know that vitamins are best taken with food and a large glass of water? This is because some vitamins may bring on woozy effects when taken on an empty stomach.
What's more, the app allows you to earn rewards and get discounts on your monthly orders!
6. Guiding light
Upon signing up, I received prompts via emails and the app dishing out helpful tips to stay on my supplement course. One great suggestion was to stack healthy habits by attaching new routines to daily tasks. It can be as simple as taking my personalised supplements with breakfast or ensuring I take my supplements at a fixed time. I felt as if a pharmacist was providing some guiding light.
7.Free consultation
Unlike the usual over-the-counter supplement brands, Vitable has clinical nutritionists on hand to answer any health and wellness queries for free to make the most out of your vitamins. They are just an email away at hello@vitable.com.au, or better still, contact their nutritionist via the app and get on a 15-minute call. How cool is that?
8.No lock-ins, cancel anytime
Our lifestyle, diet and goals evolve over time, and Vitable is on-board with this. Simply reach out to their nutritionists or retake the quiz to change up the monthly supplement subscription. Should you, by any chance, miss some days and have a surplus, Vitable recommends that you do not overdose but reach out to them to delay the next subscription. It's as simple as a few clicks on the app.
The cons:
As a first-time subscriber, I wasn’t aware that the subscription was automated from my first purchase (you’ll need to key in your credit card details). And since I was away on a long overseas vacation, the automated subscription kicked in, and my second month's subscription was on its way – while I was still overseas!
To be fair, they did send out an email to indicate that they are preparing the subsequent month's supply. Given normal circumstances, I should have time to amend my subscription. However, since I was vacationing, emails took a back seat and I missed the email alert. I was horrified that the package was on its way and would be waiting at my doorstep weeks before I arrived home. Thankfully, my package remained safe and sound at my doorstep upon returning.
Vitable dispenser. PHOTO: Cadence Loh
So word of caution, time your subscription, especially if you are planning on heading overseas. Apart from this minor mishap, I have no further complaints about my experience with Vitable. I love how easy it is to navigate the website and app. And how the 30-day supply comes in a nifty space-saving, eco-friendly packaging with a dispenser. I will probably try out the personal consultation with the nutritionist.
There's never been a better time to kick start a healthy habit. Why not do so with Vitable?
Use promotional code “NEWYEAR50” to enjoy 50% off your first customised vitamin plan. Valid from now till 13 February.
Get your customised Vitable pack — free shipping with orders over S$59.
The content on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You should always seek advice from a qualified healthcare provider on queries regarding a medical condition. Any action taken by you in reliance on or in connection with this content is solely at your own risk.
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday (Jan 26) that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The trials will involve a total of 600 adults - half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago, and half of whom have received two doses plus the previously authorised booster dose.
The booster specifically targeting Omicron will therefore be evaluated as both a third and a fourth dose.
The company also reported results on the efficacy against Omicron of the booster that has already been authorised.
It said that six months after the booster injection, the levels of neutralising antibodies against Omicron were reduced by six times from the peak observed 29 days after the injection - but remained detectable in all participants.
These data were obtained by studying the blood of 20 people who received the 50 microgram booster, half the amount of the first two injections.
"We are reassured by the antibody persistence against Omicron at six months after the currently authorised" booster, Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said in the statement.
"Nonetheless, given the long-term threat demonstrated by Omicron's immune escape, we are advancing our Omicron-specific variant vaccine booster candidate and we are pleased to begin this part of our Phase 2 study," Bancel continued.
Moderna's statement came the day after rivals Pfizer and BioNTech said they had begun enrollment for a clinical trial for an Omicron-specific vaccine.
Both vaccines are based on messenger RNA technology, which makes it relatively easy to update them to keep up with mutations specific to new variants.
Several countries, including the United States, have begun to see a decline in cases associated with the infection wave caused by Omicron, the most transmissible variant detected so far, but the number of infections worldwide continues to rise.
BEIJING: Beijing reported 14 local confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (Jan 26), the highest daily count in its current outbreak, less than two weeks before the Winter Olympics are due to commence in the Chinese capital and in neighbouring Hebei province.
The number of domestically spread infections with confirmed symptoms in Beijing reported for Tuesday comprised more than half of the 24 such cases nationwide, data from the National Health Commission showed.
Beijing has detected a total of 55 local cases with symptoms since Jan 15, with both the Omicron and Delta variants.
The number is significantly lower than cases elsewhere in the world but the city has put tens of thousands of people under targeted lockdowns and tested a few million residents to block transmission.
Beijing's moves are in line with a national guideline to curb virus flare-ups as soon as possible, which takes on extra urgency as China has vowed to safely host the Winter Olympics Games and prevent major outbreaks during the Lunar New Year travel season.
Aside from Beijing, the provinces of Heilongjiang, Hebei, Liaoning, Henan and Guangdong as well as the region of Xinjiang all reported sporadic local cases with confirmed symptoms for Tuesday, NHC data showed.
In the Horgos city of Xinjiang, two asymptomatic infected people, detected on Sunday, were found to have contracted the Omicron variant, state television said late on Tuesday. The two had not left the city in two weeks and the source of the virus remained unclear.
There were no new deaths on Tuesday, leaving China's overall death toll from the pandemic at 4,636.
As of Jan 25, mainland China had reported a total of 105,749 cases with confirmed symptoms, including both local ones and those arriving from abroad.
SHANGHAI: China's ambitious low-carbon goals should not come at the expense of energy and food security or the "normal life" of ordinary people, President Xi Jinping said, signalling a more cautious approach to climate change as the economy slows.
China, the world's biggest source of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, has been under pressure to "enhance ambition" and take more drastic action to tackle global warming.
But amid mounting economic challenges, China is worried about the risk to jobs and growth, especially as it prepares to hold a key Communist Party conclave that is expected to extend Xi's rule.
Xi told senior Communist Party leaders in a speech published late on Monday (Jan 24) that China needed to "overcome the notion of rapid success" and proceed gradually.
"Reducing emissions is not about reducing productivity, and it is not about not emitting at all," Xi was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying.
"We must stick to the overall planning and ensure energy security, industrial supply chain security and food security at the same time as cutting carbon emissions," he said.
The constantly changing system has left some like Mimi Rios Ysulat, who worked in the city as a helper for a decade, stuck overseas without a job.
She went back to the Philippines early last year after her husband died of cancer in March.
Ysulat was due to return to Hong Kong the following month, but the city enacted a flight ban and then her entry visa expired in June.
She pleaded with her employers to renew it, but a new visa didn’t arrive until mid-October, by which point her bosses had terminated her contract.
It was the second time she’d been caught by restrictions, after being blocked from returning in early 2020 before eventually making her way to Hong Kong via Singapore.
To return again, she’ll need to use an employment agency.
“I can’t find work here and I have to take care of three kids,” she said from Quezon City.
“But if I apply to go to Hong Kong again, I’d have to pay almost HK$10,000 to the agency. Where can I find the money?”
It’s a substantial sum when the minimum wage for foreign domestic helpersis roughly a quarter of the Hong Kong median salary of HK$18,400.
The lack of income reverberates through families that rely on money sent back home, total remittances to the Philippines are about US$30 billion a year, according to the government, and account for roughly 8 per cent of its gross domestic product.
It’s also a hit to the typically thriving industry in Hong Kong that matches workers with bosses, with one agency saying the business had dropped to just half of the normal levels.
Karishma Sakhrani, a 41-year-old interior designer seeking someone to take care of her teenage children, says everyone she’s spoken to recently has requested a monthly salary of at least HK$6,000.
She’s been surprised that some have a list of requirements, including not sharing a room with others, and said she’s troubled by stories of workers ending their contracts early to take better-paid jobs in other households.
“I can’t judge people for wanting more money, but I think there should be a system,” she said.
“Even if you’re in a company, you have to work a few years before a raise. You can’t just demand higher pay in the middle of the contract.”
Domestic workers say they’re being singled out for doing what’s accepted in other professions.
“Everybody else in Hong Kong can freely switch jobs, why not us?” said Eni Lestari, a helper, advocate and chair of the International Migrants Alliance.
“The Hong Kong government is promoting modern-day slavery.”
The Immigration Department declined to comment beyond referencing a Jan 19 response from Secretary for SecurityChris Tang that the department has been “proactively” combatting job-hopping, workers deliberately underperforming so they’re fired.
It refers suspicious cases to a special team that considers factors such as the conduct of foreign domestic helpers, records from workers and their former employers and the reasons behind the premature termination of a contract, he said.
In Hong Kong, both helpers and bosses can end a contract early.
Authorities rejected 2,833 visa applications last year due to job-hopping, meaning workers can’t legally enter or work in the city, up from 319 in 2020.
Even as the growing labourcrunch offers a potential rebalancing of power, fear of being labelled a job hopper and having a visa revoked, or of getting stuck outside Hong Kong when fulfilling a requirement to exit and re-enter between contracts, is one of the biggest barriers to seeking out higher salaries.
“They stay because they have no better alternative,” said Lestari.
Foreign studies show hospital admissions with Omicron are between 40 per cent and 60 per cent lower, while intensive care admissions halved, they said.
Government advisers said bars, restaurants and theatres should be allowed to open until 10pm.
Patrons will have to produce a pass that shows when a person is fully vaccinated or has recovered from an infection, or can show a negative recent test. Amusements parks, zoos and sports matches are also expected to be allowed to open for crowds.
On Monday, more than 60,000 new infections were recorded over a 24-hour period.
The Dutch association of regional public health authorities, GGD GHOR, said it had reached maximum capacity and warned that people would have to wait longer to get tested.
Singapore — A 73-year-old woman pulled a fast one on scammers who told her a tall tale about her grandson, which ended up with one man getting arrested and charged.
The woman, who hails from Long Island, New York, received a call from a man who said he was in trouble and needed bail money. The caller pretended to be her grandson.
“I knew he was a real scammer. I just knew he wasn’t going to scam me. He starts calling me ‘grandma,’ and then I’m like, I don’t have a grandson that drives, so I knew it was a scam.”
Jean, who used to work for US emergency hotline 911, received the call from the man last Thursday (Jan 20).
And although she immediately recognised that a group of people were trying to scam her, she pretended to go along with the scheme.
Later, she got another call from a man who said he was a lawyer, who told her $8,000 was needed as bail money for Jean’s alleged grandson.
Jean said she had the money with her, but did not really believe the scammers would come over and get it.
“I told him I had the money in the house, and I figured, he’s not going to fall for that. Well, he fell for that hook, line and sinker,” she said.
And then a third man who claimed to be a bail bondsman said he would collect the money for the “grandson” from Jean’s home.
She called the police and told them about the phone calls, and they came to her residence.
When a man posing as the bail bondsman came to her door, Jean gave him an envelope full of paper towels.
The policemen, who had been lying in wait at Jean’s home, then tackled the man, 28-year-old Joshua Estrella Gomez, as he turned to leave.
He has been charged by officers of the Nassau County Police Department with attempted grand larceny in the third degree.
“I feel like gotcha, and I feel like, like you say, so many people fall for this, and you only hear about it on the other end after they’ve lost $8,000,” added Jean in an interview.
While Jean was successful in nabbing the scammer, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder asked the community to do their part in protecting vulnerable members, especially the elderly.
“Speak to your families. Speak to your neighbours. Visit those that are vulnerable. Let them know, don’t listen to these scams.
These individuals sit at home and have nothing else to do but think of a way to take advantage of our elderly.”
HONG KONG: Hong Kong will take steps from Tuesday (Jan 25) to cut the number of civil servants working in their offices, as it battles a spate of COVID-19 infections in the run-up to the busy Chinese New Year holiday.
Daily cases hit an 18-month high of 140 on Sunday, as a weekend surge in infections linked to a congested public housing estate sent authorities in the Asian financial hub scrambling to rein in the virus.
Some employees would "work from home as much as possible", the government said in a statement on Monday, adding that individual departments might temporarily cut back on some public services as a result.
Ahead of next week's Chinese New Year holiday, Hong Kong has locked down thousands of people in the Kwai Chung estate for five days. About 35,000 face some curbs and must have daily tests, leader Carrie Lam said over the weekend after a visit.
HONG KONG: Late last year, Tania Sibree quit her well-paid job as a financial services lawyer in Hong Kong and returned to Australia rather than live a moment longer with the city's strict coronavirus restrictions.
Sibree, who said she had enjoyed the previous five years in Hong Kong, is one of hundreds – possibly thousands – of foreign expatriate professionals who have left or are planning to leave, threatening to dent the city's standing as one of the world's financial hubs.
"The hotel quarantine made it just so tough for people to travel and that was the big incentive to being in Hong Kong, it was close to home and my parents. But you cannot do that long in hotel quarantine with kids," she said.
"Everyone had been thinking the restrictions would be lifted, it would get better and it would not go on for so long."
Hong Kong has only had about 13,000 coronavirus infections out of a population of 7.4 million, much lower than most places in the world. But the Chinese territory is following Beijing's "zero-COVID" policy rather than adapting to life with the virus.
It has had stiff quarantines in place for two years, and last year introduced some of the strictest entry rules in the world, allowing only residents to return to the city and mandatory hotel quarantine of up to three weeks for arrivals from most countries, regardless of vaccination status, paid for by the travellers themselves.
However, "zero COVID" is no closer – 140 new infections were reported in Hong Kong on Sunday – and there are no signs of the government easing those restrictions.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is in a stable condition after undergoing treatment at the National Heart Institute, his daughter said in a statement on Saturday.
Marina Mahathir said her 96-year-old father had been readmitted to hospital and has undergone two days of treatment following an elective medical procedure in early January.
"Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali (his wife) and family ask for the people to pray for his speedy and full recovery," Marina said.
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A spokesperson for Mahathir earlier said he was admitted to the cardiac care unit at the hospital but gave no details.
Mahathir, who is still an active lawmaker, had been discharged from hospital after what was described as an successful elective medical procedure on Jan.8.
The National Heart Institute did not say at the time what procedure Mahathir, who has a history of heart problems, had undergone.
In December, he was admitted and discharged after his doctors said they were satisfied with the results of necessary investigations.
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Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing William Mallard and Ros Russell
Meat Loaf, the singer best known for the Bat Out Of Hell album and the hit song I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), has died at the age of 74, a statement on his official Facebook page said on Friday (Jan 21).
No cause of death was revealed.
The American singer and actor, otherwise known as Michael Lee Aday, had a career spanning six decades, and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.
His family said in a statement: “We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man. From his heart to your souls…don’t ever stop rocking!”
The singer was known for the bestselling album trilogy, Bat Out Of Hell. The second album, Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell yielded the hit song, I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).
Aday died on Thursday (Jan 20) night with his wife by his side, according to Deadline, citing his longtime agent Michael Greene.
Greene also told the publication that the singer’s daughters, Pearl and Amanda, as well as close friends had a chance to spend time with him and say their goodbyes.
BAT OUT OF HELL
His first Bat Out Of Hell album came out in 1977, a mega-selling collaboration with songwriter Jim Steinman and producer Todd Rundgren that made him one of the most recognisable performers in rock.
Fans fell hard for the roaring vocals of the long-haired, 250-plus pound singer and for the comic non-romance of the title track, You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and Paradise By The Dashboard Light, an operatic cautionary tale about going all the way.
After a slow start and mixed reviews, Bat Out Of Hell became one of the top-selling albums in history, with worldwide sales of more than 40 million copies.
Meat Loaf wasn’t a consistent hit maker, especially after falling out for years with Steinman. But he maintained close ties with his fans through his manic live shows, social media and his many television, radio and film appearances, including Fight Club and cameos on Glee and South Park.
His biggest musical success after Bat Out Of Hell was Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, a 1993 reunion with Steinman that sold more than 15 million copies and featured the Grammy-winning single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).
ORIGINS OF ‘MEAT LOAF’
A native of Dallas, Aday was the son of a school teacher who raised him on her own after divorcing his alcoholic father, a police officer. Aday was singing and acting in high school (Mick Jagger was an early favorite, so was Ethel Merman) and attended Lubbock Christian College and what is now the University of North Texas. Among his more notable childhood memories: Seeing John F. Kennedy arrive at Love Field in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, then learning the president had been assassinated and driving to Parkland Hospital and watching a bloodied Jackie Kennedy step out of a car.
He was still a teenager when his mother died and when he acquired the nickname Meat Loaf, the alleged origins of which range from his weight to a favorite recipe of his mother’s. He left for Los Angeles after college and was soon fronting the band Meat Loaf Soul. For years, he alternated between music and the stage, recording briefly for Motown, opening for such acts as the Who and the Grateful Dead and appearing in the Broadway production of Hair.
By the mid-1970s, he was playing the lobotomised biker Eddie in the theater and film versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, had served as an understudy for his friend John Belushi for the stage production of National Lampoon and had begun working with Steinman on Bat Out Of Hell.
The album took more than two years to find a taker as numerous record executives turned it down, including RCA’s Clive Davis, who disparaged Steinman’s songs and acknowledged that he had misjudged the singer: “The songs were coming over as very theatrical, and Meat Loaf, despite a powerful voice, just didn’t look like a star,” Davis wrote in his memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life.”
‘THESE PEOPLE THINK WE’RE SERVING DINNER’
With the help of another Springsteen sideman, Steve Van Zandt, Bat Out Of Hell was acquired by Cleveland International, a subsidiary of Epic Records. The album made little impact until months after its release, when a concert video of the title track was aired on the British program the Old Grey Whistle Test. In the US, his connection to Rocky Horror helped when he convinced producer Lou Adler to use a video for Paradise By The Dashboard Light as a trailer for the cult movie. But Meat Loaf was so little known at first that he began his Bat Out Of Hell tour in Chicago as the opening act for Cheap Track, then one of the world’s hottest groups.
“I remember pulling up at the theater and it says, ‘TONIGHT: CHEAP TRICK, WITH MEAT LOAF.’ And I said to myself, ‘These people think we’re serving dinner,’” Meat Loaf explained in 2013 on the syndicated radio show In the Studio.
“And we walk out on stage and these people were such Cheap Trick fans they booed us from the start. They were getting up and giving us the finger. The first six rows stood up and screamed. ... When we finished, most of the boos had stopped and we were almost getting applause.”
Many cities have advised residents to stay put or requiring travellers to report their trips days before their arrival.
Still, some state media outlets are warning against being too harsh, after a county-level government official in Henan province was quoted as saying that some people had ignored the advice to "maliciously return" to their hometown and that they would quarantine and detain such cases.
"It is human nature to return home during the Spring Festival for reunions, so why is it malicious?," the official People's Daily newspaper said on its Weibo account.
"Preventing and controlling the epidemic is a big task, but we cannot take a one size fits all approach...(it) must be done in a scientific and legal way, and every desire to return home must be treated compassionately."
Mainland China reported 63 new COVID-19 cases on Jan 21, down from 73 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday.
The National Health Commission said in a statement that 23 of the new cases were locally transmitted, the same as a day earlier, and the rest imported.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 43 from 31 a day earlier.
There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636.
As of Jan 21, mainland China had 105,547 confirmed cases.
SINGAPORE — From early next month, the booster vaccination programme will be extended to those aged 12 to 17 years old, the multi-ministerial taskforce on COVID-19 said on Friday (21 January).
The extended programme will start with those aged 16 and 17 years, followed by those aged 12 to 15 years.
All those between the age of 12 to 17 years will require the consent of their parent or guardian to book an appointment. Parents or guardians will receive an SMS with a personalised booking link to the mobile number that they have registered with for the primary series, to provide consent and book their child or ward’s booster vaccination appointment.
They can be boosted in any vaccination centre offering the Pfizer- BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine and should bring the personal identification of their child or ward for verification.
Parents or guardians of children or wards aged 13 and above are not required to accompany them on the day of vaccination. However, children or wards aged 12 and students in Special Education (SPED) schools will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The authorities will work with SPED schools, and more details will be shared at a later date.
Individuals aged 12 to 17 years who are medically ineligible for the Pfizer- BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine will be offered a Sinovac-CoronaVac booster dose. This will also be extended to children aged 5 to 11 years who are medically ineligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine for their primary vaccination series.
Consequently, the requirement for the fully vaccinated status will be amended for this age group.
Previously, the authorities announced that from 14 February, persons aged 18 years and above who have completed the primary vaccination series and are eligible for booster vaccination will be considered as fully vaccinated for only 270 days after the last dose in their primary vaccination series. Upon receiving their booster, they will continue to maintain their vaccinated status.
Starting from 14 March, persons aged 12 to 17 years who have completed their primary series and are now eligible for booster vaccination will also be considered fully vaccinated for only 270 days after their last primary series dose, and will require a booster dose to maintain their vaccinated status thereafter.
SINGAPORE: From March 14, those aged between 12 and 17 will need to get a booster shot within 270 days of receiving their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, in order to maintain their fully vaccinated status, announced the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Jan 21).
The extension of the booster programme to this age group comes on the recommendations of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V), MOH added.
Currently, only those aged 18 years and above are offered a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine, under the National Vaccination Programme, five months after completing their primary vaccination series.
This group will be required to take a booster shot within 270 days of completing their primary vaccination series in order to maintain a fully vaccinated status against COVID-19 from Feb 14.
In a news release on Friday, MOH said that the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme will be progressively extended to those aged between 12 and 17 from early February.
It will start with those who are 16 or 17 years old, followed by those aged between 12 and 15.
"Vaccinations, especially boosters, will ensure we retain substantial protection against Omicron," said MOH.
"Boosters have helped dampen the rise in Omicron cases thus far and increases our protection against infection and severe illness."
SAFETY CONCERNS
At a press conference by the COVID-19 multi-ministry taskforce on Friday, MOH’s director of medical services Kenneth Mak addressed safety concerns over booster shots for this age group.
"The experience in Israel, the US and the UK has shown that adolescents are as vulnerable to breakthrough infections following vaccination, as in adults. But the booster vaccinations have been shown to increase the protection back against the Omicron variant," he said.
"Local and international data has shown that the safety profile and side effects for the booster dose is compatible with that for the first two doses and with a significantly lower myocarditis risk," he added.
Asked if a booster shot would eventually be required for children under 12 years old, Assoc Prof Mak said that "there are no plans at this stage".
"We will monitor the situation closely to see if, as in other age groups, the vaccine protection wanes over time, and whether it leads to an increased vulnerability to breakthrough infections arising particularly in the setting of other viral variants that may emerge in the future," he added.
"And at that point in time, we will make recommendations guided by EC19V on whether booster vaccinations are then required for this age group, as in the other age groups."
BRUSSELS: A UN-backed agency has struck a deal for nearly 30 generic drugmakers to make low-cost versions of Merck & Co's COVID-19 pill molnupiravir for poorer nations, widening access to a drug seen as a weapon in fighting the pandemic.
The antiviral pill, which in December received emergency approval in the United States, reduces hospitalisations and deaths of high-risk patients by around 30 per cent, according to clinical trial results.
The deal, negotiated by the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) with Merck, will expand output by increasing the number of companies that will produce the drug, after Merck entered into licensing agreements with eight Indian drugmakers in October.
The new agreement allows 27 generic drugmakers from India, China and other countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to produce ingredients and the finished drug.
The MPP said the deal stipulated the pill would be distributed to 105 less-developed nations. A spokesperson later said deliveries from some firms covered by the deal could start as early as February.
A molnupiravir course of 40 pills for five days is expected to cost about US$20 in poorer nations, an MPP official involved in the talks with drugmakers told Reuters, citing initial estimates from drugmakers, which are subject to change.
That is far below the US$700 per course the United States agreed to pay for an initial delivery of 1.7 million courses, but twice as high as first estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO)-backed programme to procure COVID-19 drugs and vaccines for the world.
NO ROYALTIES, FOR NOW
The developers of molnupiravir, which alongside Merck are US firm Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Emory University, will not receive royalties for the sale of the low-cost versions made by generic drugmakers while COVID-19 remains classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO.
Bangladesh's Beximco Pharmaceuticals, India's Natco Pharma, South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings and China's Fosun Pharma are among generics firms that will produce the finished product.
Other companies, including India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories , had struck earlier deals with Merck for the production of molnupiravir. Dr Reddy's will sell molnupiravir at 1,400 rupees (US$18.8) per course.
The MPP spokesperson said there was no firm estimate yet of the likely output from generics makers covered by the deal, but that poorer nations' demand was expected to be largely covered.
The MPP works to increase access to life-saving medicines for poorer countries. It also has an agreement with Pfizer for the sub-licensing of its COVID-19 pill paxlovid to generic drugmakers.
Two years into the pandemic, weary governments are hoping the fast-spreading but less severe Omicron variant marks a turning point, a shift toward a more predictable and manageable phase.
Determined to escape the crisis and avoid more restrictions, officials in some countries suggest it is approaching time to treat COVID-19 as an endemic disease, like seasonal flu. World Health Organization (WHO) experts say that is premature.
With Omicron ripping through populations and vast parts of the planet still unvaccinated, the pandemic is not over. The bottom line: The path to reaching that endemic stage is full of uncertainties, posing tough questions for policymakers everywhere.
WHAT DOES ENDEMIC MEAN?
In an epidemic, a disease spreads rapidly and unexpectedly in a given location; it becomes a pandemic when it spreads globally, or over a very wide area.
A disease that is endemic is continuously present in a given population at a lower and more stable level, even if cases spike under certain conditions.
Scientists expect that when enough people gain at least some protection from the coronavirus through vaccines or prior infections, it will blunt the spread of the virus and reduce hospitalisations and deaths, so that over time COVID-19 will pose less of a threat.
The virus will not go away entirely, however, and endemic diseases can still take a serious toll. Tuberculosis and malaria, which are endemic in some parts of the world, claimed an estimated 1.5 million and 627,000 lives, respectively, in 2020.
“Endemic in itself does not mean good. Endemic just means it’s here forever,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme.
BANGKOK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Thailand will resume its 'Test & Go' quarantine waiver for vaccinated arrivals from Feb. 1, its coronavirus task force said on Thursday, in response to slowing COVID-19 infections.
The scheme was suspended a month ago after only seven weeks due to the rapid global spread of the Omicron variant and uncertainty about vaccine effectiveness against it.
The policy requires visitors to test on arrival and again five days later, while agreeing to have their whereabouts tracked, spokesperson Taweesin Wisanuyothin told a briefing.
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Authorities also extended the hours restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol to 11 p.m. from 9 p.m. Bars and nightclubs will remain closed, however.
The moves are aimed at reviving a tourism sector that has been decimated by the pandemic, with numbers limited by weak global travel demand and Thailand's rigorous quarantine requirements.
Visitors last year to Thailand, one of Asia's most popular travel destinations, were about 0.5% of the pre-pandemic figure, which hit a record of nearly 40 million in 2019.
The taskforce also agreed to expand another similar quarantine waiver programme, the "Sandbox" to include popular eastern beach destinations Pattaya and Koh Chang.
The scheme, where vaccinated tourists must agree to stay in one location for a week, is currently operating in Phuket and Koh Samui.
Thailand has reported 2.3 million infections and nearly 22,000 coronavirus-related fatalities overall. About two-thirds of residents have been vaccinated and 15% have received a booster.
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Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty
BEIJING: Deliveries of China's home-grown narrow-body C919 aircraft, which is yet to be certified by the country's aviation regulator, are expected to start in 2022, local media cited an official with the state planemaker COMAC as saying on Wednesday (Jan 19).
Wu Yongliang, deputy general manager of COMAC, made the comments on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the political advisory body for Shanghai city, where COMAC is based, according to the government-backed media outlet The Paper.
The C919 aircraft, China's ambition to rival Aibus SE and Boeing Co, earlier missed a previously stated target of achieving certification by the end of 2021, with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) saying the programme only completed 34 certification tests out of 276 planned.
When asked about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the C919 programme, Wu said the impact was manageable and relevant work was being carried out in an orderly manner, according to The Paper.
Reuters in September reported COMAC has found it harder to meet certification and production targets for the C919 amid tough US export rules, according to people with knowledge of the programme.
Leeham News analyst Scott Hamilton said in a note on Monday he expects the entry into service of the jet to be in 2023 or 2024.
China Eastern Airlines is the launch customer for the C919 and has a firm order to buy five of the narrow-body aircraft.
BEIJING: China will force key industrial sectors and regions to take action to measure greenhouse gas emissions as part of a new initiative to improve data quality and oversight, according to an environment ministry document reviewed by Reuters.
Under the pilot programme, some of China's biggest coal-fired power providers, steel mills and oil and gas producers must draw up comprehensive new greenhouse gas monitoring plans by the end of this year.
It comes as China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, needs to beef up its measurement of carbon emissions in line with its monitoring of air pollutants to meet a pledge by President Xi Jinping to become carbon neutral by 2060, say experts and environmentalists.
"In contrast to air pollutants, there is a major gap in reporting on CO2 emissions - there is no regular reporting in place that would disclose the country's total emissions," said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst with the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
"Expanding the emission monitoring and disclosure that is currently in place for air pollutants to CO2 would be a huge step forward."
After some success in curbing the choking smog that envelops many of China's industrial cities over winter, the State Council, China's cabinet, has already promised to expand curbs on pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides and heavy metal waste.
This will require more real-time environmental monitoring stations and advanced technologies that can detect a wider range of emissions and catch companies trying to cheat, officials and environmentalists said.
But the yawning coverage gap on carbon dioxide emissions could prove the biggest challenge. China up to now has relied largely on proxy indicators - including energy consumption - to measure CO2, falling behind countries in Europe.
According to the policy document, dated September 2021 and supplied to Reuters by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the new monitoring programme aims to provide "statistical support" for the country's fight against climate change.
Cities like Tangshan and Hangzhou, along with regions like Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, have also been ordered to assess their ability to act as carbon sinks, including forest coverage rates and land use changes.
The pilot programme, scheduled to be completed in the first three months of 2023, is designed to assess best practices for measuring greenhouse gases. It will include the oil and gas, steel and thermal power sectors, as well as waste processing, and will cover key gases like methane as well as carbon dioxide.
State companies involved in the pilot programme - including the China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec), the China National Petroleum Corp and the Shandong Energy Corp - did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
REAL-TIME MONITORING
Around 23,000 of China's major polluters are now plugged into a national real-time emissions monitoring system that measures air pollutants like sulphur dioxide or ammonia in water, though this is still a fraction of the millions of factories across the country that require monitoring.
An accurate measure of carbon emissions has also become increasingly important for China's plans to build out its national emissions trading system (ETS), which currently covers the power sector but will later be expanded to other sectors.
"When it comes to controlling emissions, and cap and trade, and all the other issues like carbon pricing - all of this needs to be based on accurate data, otherwise it will be meaningless," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a non-government organisation focused on environmental monitoring.
The launch of the first phase of the ETS was repeatedly delayed partly because of data quality concerns.
Consultancy Frost & Sullivan estimated sales of environmental monitoring devices in China will surpass US$16 billion in 2023, four times the level in 2014.
But up to now there has been no legal requirement for firms to measure greenhouse gas.
IPE's Ma said monitoring CO2 would be expensive for firms, but was vital to ensure the levels of compliance required green financing and carbon trading.
"When it comes to emissions trading you need to go extremely accurate," he said, noting companies needed to be able to determine precisely how many credits to buy.
"Any slight change in parameters or emission factors could mean a difference of hundreds of millions of yuan."
HONG KONG: A mass hamster cull in Hong Kong sparked fears among animal welfare groups on Wednesday (Jan 19) that panicky people would abandon their pets after 11 of the rodents from one pet shop in the city tested positive for COVID-19.
The local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which runs veterinary clinics, told Reuters it received "numerous" enquiries from worried pet owners, asking what to do about the latest scare.
"We urge the pet owners not to panic or abandon their pets," SPCA said in a statement.
Scientists around the world and Hong Kong health and veterinary authorities have said there was no evidence that animals play a major role in human contagion with the coronavirus.
But having pursued a policy of zero tolerance for COVID-19, Hong Kong government officials took no chances after a series of recent infections with the Delta variant were traced back to a worker at a pet shop.
Hundreds of samples were collected from animals, including rabbits and chinchillas, but only the hamsters tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in officials giving orders for about 2,000 hamsters from 34 pet shops to be put down "humanely".
A leading business organisation says more than 40% of its members are considering leaving Hong Kong due to the city's strict coronavirus rules.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong pointed to border closures as a major issue for those surveyed.
The organisation's president has told the BBC she has now left Hong Kong.
The Asian financial hub has some of the world's tightest coronavirus rules as it follows mainland China's tough zero-Covid policies.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong's (AmCham HK) 2022 Business Sentiment Survey polled 262 individuals and corporate representatives, many of which have moved to the city from overseas.
It found that 44% of individuals said that they may leave Hong Kong due to its border controls and social restrictions. That compares to 26% of the companies surveyed saying they are considering relocating.
"Companies are not keen to go - but for the staff there are all sorts of issues. Because they have personal lives, they have anxieties, they have families back home," AmCham HK's outgoing-president Tara Joseph said.
"One of the things that's really hurting at this point is there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel," she said.
The survey found that Hong Kong's Covid-19 restrictions are causing businesses significant disruptions, delaying new investment and making it difficult to recruit talent.
However, the survey also said businesses are upbeat when it comes to their prospects in the city.
This is particularly the case in the financial services industry, with almost a third of respondents saying Hong Kong has gained in regional competitiveness in the last three years when it comes to wealth management.
Many of those surveyed also said they saw business opportunities opening up as some companies and individuals left the city.
While firms remained broadly optimistic, strained US-China relations, the high cost of living and other issues have caused concerns.
Almost 70% of respondents said their confidence in Hong Kong's rule of law had worsened over the past year, with issues such as the imprisonment of billionaire Jimmy Lai and the increasing closeness of Hong Kong's government to Beijing weighing on sentiment.
Ms Joseph is herself one of the expats who has chosen to leave the city.
Now back in the US, she is due to leave her post as AmCham HK's president in March and said she has been unable to return to the city after Hong Kong closed its border to America.
"Even if I wanted to go back, I couldn't," she said about the city she's called home for the past 20 years.
"I feel sad but I'm a realist. I would love to see Hong Kong succeed."
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China’s highly guarded capital is seeing signs of further coronavirus spread, with new cases of both the omicron and delta variants found less than three weeks before the Winter Olympic Games.
Beijing’s first omicron patient has passed the virus to at least two close contacts, according to the health commission. Separately, a person in a different part of the capital tested preliminary positive for delta, city spokesperson Xu Hejian said at a briefing on Tuesday.
BEIJING: China's postal service has ordered workers to disinfect international deliveries and urged the public to reduce orders from overseas after authorities claimed that mail could be the source of recent COVID-19 outbreaks.
China, where the virus first emerged in late 2019, has stuck to a strict policy of targeting zero COVID-19 cases even as the rest of the world has reopened.
In recent days, Chinese officials have suggested that some people could have been infected by packages from abroad, including a woman in Beijing whom authorities said had no contact with other infected people but tested positive for a variant similar to those found in North America.
China Post on Monday published a statement ordering workers to disinfect the outer packaging of all international mail "as soon as possible" and requiring employees handling foreign letters and packages to receive booster vaccine shots.
The postal service also asked the public to reduce purchases and deliveries from "countries and regions with a high overseas epidemic risk" and said that domestic mail should be handled in different areas to prevent cross-contamination.
The coronavirus is spread through small liquid particles exhaled by infected people.
Both the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have said that the risk of being infected from contaminated surfaces - known as fomite transmission - is low and becomes less likely as time passes.
The CDC has said that there is a 99 per cent reduction in virus traces left on most surfaces within three days.
But China is not willing to take any risks, even more so ahead of next month's Winter Olympics.
The country uses strict local lockdowns, mass testing and people tracing health apps to stamp out infections as soon as cases are detected.
Millions have been confined to their homes in multiple cities in recent weeks after cases of both the Delta and Omicron coronavirus variants flared.
Recent infections have been detected in areas that receive a high volume of international goods, including in the eastern port city of Tianjin and the southern manufacturing region of Guangdong.
China reported 127 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
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