BENGALURU: India reported another record surge in daily COVID-19 cases on Friday (Jul 31), taking the total to 1.64 million, as the government further eases virus curbs in a bid to resuscitate the economy, while also trying to increase testing.
Infections jumped by 55,078 in the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 779 to 35,747, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on its website.
The ministry also said it aimed to raise the country's capacity to 1 million coronavirus tests per day in the medium term, from a record 600,000 on Friday.
The federal government this week announced the reopening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums, and removed restrictions on the movement of people and goods.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong said on Friday (Jul 31) the reasons for disqualifying him from running in elections for the legislature were "invalid and ridiculous".
Wong said in a statement Hong Kong's new national security was a "legal weapon used against dissidents".
"Our resistance will continue on and we hope the world can stand with us in the upcoming uphill battle," he told reporters.
On Thursday, Hong Kong disqualified a dozen candidates from running in a key election, including Wong, citing reasons including collusion with foreign forces and opposition to the new China-imposed national security laws.
SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Macau has disputed Malaysian authorities' claim that Low Taek Jho is hiding in the territory as the authorities continue with efforts to locate and bring the fugitive financier home to face justice for his role in the troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The "unilateral" disclosure of information from the Malaysian police that Low is in Macau is "not in line with facts and the rules and practices of international police cooperation", according to a statement by the Office of the Secretary for Security dated Thursday (July 30).
The Malaysian government hasn't notified Macau authorities or made any requests regarding the fugitive, the office said.
Malaysia was informed in 2018 that Low wasn't in the territory after the Macau sub-bureau of the China National Central Bureau of Interpol received a request from Malaysia.
Malaysia's court on Tuesday said that Low had played a crucial role in transferring 42 million ringgit (S$13.5 million) of funds from a former 1MDB unit to former prime minister Najib Razak's accounts. Najib was found guilty of all seven charges in the trial and faces 12 years in prison, along with a 210 million ringgit fine.
BRIGHTON, England: In the global race to contain the coronavirus pandemic, there is hopeful news on the vaccine front, with a number of potential candidates being developed and some promising early results.
Based on what we know so far, it currently seems likely that most potential vaccines designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 will require boosters, perhaps regularly. Why is this?
When an infectious agent enters the body, the immune system will notice this and create a memory, so that the next time it encounters the agent there will be a swift, repelling response.
In the case of most infectious agents, such as viruses, natural infection produces a long-lasting memory. But this is not always the case.
The idea behind any vaccine is to give the recipient a version of the infectious agent which will not cause the disease, but will still create the immune system memory. How we achieve that varies based on the nature of the virus targeted by a vaccine, and how much we know about it.
Some vaccines are made by disabling the infectious agent in some way so that it becomes safe to introduce to our bodies, but still goes through its normal life cycle.
The theory is that this will stimulate something close to the natural immune response and produce the long-lasting memory without making the recipient sick.
This is the basis of the vaccine we are given for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). It contains live but disabled versions of each virus.
Children are given two doses of the vaccine a few years apart. This is in case the vaccine does not “take” the first time around and the immune system needs a reminder of what the viruses look like.
This repeat vaccine is not technically a booster, but rather a second dose which allows for possible interference by other childhood infections the first time around, and because a pre-school child’s immune system is still developing.
File photo of a woman preparing a measles vaccine. (Photo: AFP/Schneyder Mendoza)
The MMR approach has been possible because the viruses that cause measles, mumps and rubella are well established in the human population and virologists know a lot about how they interact with the human immune system.
But it takes years to create a safe and effective live vaccine, so for SARS-CoV-2, research teams are trying different routes. A good approach is to use a killed version of the virus rather than a modified, live version as in the case of MMR.
The inactivated polio vaccine and influenza vaccines both use killed viruses. The drawback of these vaccines is that the immune response does not last, which is why boosters are needed.
In the case of seasonal influenza, variations in the virus means a fresh vaccine is needed each year anyway, but even if the virus did not change, boosters would still be required to keep stimulating the immune memory because the virus in the vaccine is not live.
In the case of polio, most countries now use the inactivated polio vaccine in their childhood vaccination programme instead of the live, oral version.
As the disease is close to being eradicated, the theory is that giving each cohort of children a single dose should be enough to protect them as they start mixing with others.
But if there was an outbreak, then everyone in close contact in the local area would need a booster.
WHAT A COVID-19 VACCINE MAY LOOK LIKE
The potential COVID-19 vaccine designed by French company Valneva, which will be manufactured in Scotland, is a killed vaccine. If it is effective in protecting against SARS-CoV-2, it could really help to reduce the spread of the virus.
In the case of this vaccine, regular (perhaps annual) boosters would probably be needed to help to ensure people keep their immune memory. In an outbreak situation, everyone in the affected area could be given a dose of the vaccine to help contain the transmission.
Scientists work in a lab testing COVID-19 samples at New York City's health department, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York U.S., April 23, 2020. Picture taken April 23, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
Another approach in vaccine design is to take the genetic code for a part of the virus which is known to stimulate an immune response, and place that into a carrier organism which cannot cause disease.
The Hepatitis B vaccine uses the code for the antigen found on the outside of infectious virus particles. This has been put into the genome of a harmless yeast and made into a vaccine.
As the yeast grows and divides, it also makes the virus’s surface antigen, thus stimulating the body to keep making an immune response. This vaccine is given in three doses over six months in the first instance, and most people require a booster after about five years.
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the team at Oxford University, which has shown promising early results, uses a broadly similar approach, in that researchers have taken the code for the SARS-CoV-2 “spike protein” and put it into a harmless virus carrier.
So, it is possible that the initial schedule for everyone who received this type of vaccine would involve one or two booster doses a few months after the first, in a similar way to the Hepatitis B vaccine.
We are not really sure how long we would be protected against COVID-19 using this approach, by analogy with Hepatitis B – but it could be a few years. This might be enough to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world.
The need for a booster should not provide a barrier for the rollout of any potential COVID-19 vaccine, as our experiences with Hepatitis B, MMR and influenza prevention have shown.
But it will require a concerted effort to make billions of doses of the vaccine and distribute them efficiently and fairly around the world.
All countries will need a robust vaccination programme in place to invite everyone to have the first dose and then remind them to have the second or third dose as required. It will also be important to monitor how people respond to make sure that the booster works as planned.
If we can manage this, getting immunised against COVID-19 may just become a normal part of our routine health care duty – like regularly going to the dentist.
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Sarah Pitt is Principal Lecturer, Microbiology and Biomedical Science Practice at the University of Brighton. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.
HONG KONG - The government has backpedalled on its decision to fully ban dining-in at eateries one day into the new rule kicking in, after drawing criticisms for the move, while the city hits a high in new daily coronavirus infections.
In a statement issued on Thursday (July 30), the government said after observing the implementation of the dine-in ban that it understood the measure "has inconvenienced and made it difficult for employees".
From Friday, eateries can run at half capacity, with each table capped at two diners, while the 1.5m rule between tables still applies.
The government reinstated the order for eateries to provide only takeaways between 6pm and 5am.
The announcement came after blue-collar workers, including construction workers and cleaners, were seen having takeaways outdoors in heavy rain, or inside toilets or storerooms.
Previously, the government said it would open 19 community halls across the city between 11am and 3pm from Thursday for those without a place to lunch, but some said these halls may be too far for them.
The backpedalling comes as the government struggles to contain the community transmissions as the number of new infections surges daily.
Health authorities said at the daily briefing that there were 149 new cases on Thursday - the highest in a single day - bringing the confirmed tally to 3,151, including 24 deaths.
Of the new infections, 145 were local cases, of which sources were unknown for 61 patients.
China's director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease Zhong Nanshan suggested in a Xinhua interview that the Hong Kong government should provide territory-wide free nucleic acid screenings, with help from the mainland.
The government must take firm action against people who "deliberately come out to make trouble" or "hold gatherings or demonstrations" during this crucial period, he said.
But Professor David Hui, a respiratory disease expert from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told a local radio station on Thursday that it is not practical to test everyone in the city.
This, as a person can be tested negative one day but positive in the days that follow.
Prof Hui said his peers have conducted an analysis with the results suggesting that the third wave of outbreak could be over by the end of August.
Over the past five weeks, community outbreaks have been growing faster than the healthcare services can cope with, as testing services are stretched to their limits and hospital beds for Covid-19 patients run out.
On Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned that Hong Kong is "on the verge of a large-scale community outbreak, which may lead to a collapse of our hospital system and cost lives, especially of the elderly".
To free up more beds for Covid-19 patients in serious conditions, the Hospital Authority on Thursday said there will be 500 beds and three doctors stationed at the new Covid-19 treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo convention centre.
Previously used as a coronavirus testing centre for incoming travellers, the centre will begin running in a few days' time and cater to patients in stable conditions who are aged between 18 and 60.
As pressure mounts on the government to contain the community spread, it rolled out tighter restrictions on Wednesday that halved the number at public gatherings to two and ordered people to wear masks at all times at outdoor public places.
Multiple venues, the list of which keeps expanding from gyms, cinemas, massage parlours to sports centres and swimming pools, have been ordered to shut since July 15 and will remain so until Aug 4.
On Thursday, the government also said civil servants, save for those providing emergency services and essential public services, will continue to work from home until Aug 9.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong authorities on Thursday (Jul 30) backtracked on a decision to ban all restaurant dining, noting that it brought "inconvenience and difficulties" to many workers.
From Friday, eateries will be able to resume dine-in services for breakfast and lunch, provided they operate at 50 per cent capacity and ensure diners sit two to a table, with a 1.5m spacing between each table.
Dining-in will only be allowed from 5am to 5.59pm, according to the authorities. In the evenings, eateries must stick to only serving takeaway meals.
The restaurant dining ban, which was announced on Monday and took effect on Wednesday, had barred any outlet from allowing dine-in patrons, an unprecedented move in the financial hub where hundreds of thousands depend on eating out for daily meals.
The ban was followed by a wave of widespread public anger, and restaurant groups with links to influential pro-Beijing parties also voiced dismay at the measures, which had been urged by epidemiologists to slow COVID-19 infections amid a spike in new cases.
Other restrictions announced on Monday included a ban on gatherings of more than two people and mandatory face masks in all public places.
Customers wait to buy a take-away lunch after the government banned dine-in services in Hong Kong, China, Jul 29, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
EATING IN STOREROOMS, TOILETS
Following the ban, construction and office workers were seen across the city trying to find shade as they ate their noodle and rice lunch boxes in temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius.
Social media was quickly swamped by photos of primarily blue-collar workers forced to eat on pavements and parks - and even inside public toilets to escape a torrential downpour.
Hong Kong authorities have since opened 19 community centres for residents and workers to have their meals.
A construction worker eats his takeaway lunch on a pavement in Hong Kong, Jul 29, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)
Ivan Tong, a 24-year-old engineer who was buying his takeaway lunch in the commercial district of Tsim Sha Tsui, said many industries did not have an office where workers could eat and some companies did not allow dining inside, making the restaurant dining ban very tough.
"Although these measures aim to lower the number of confirmed cases, it may be more dangerous as people are outside longer," Tong said.
A worker eats his lunch in an air conditioned church, which opened its doors to members of the public who would otherwise have to eat outdoors, in Hong Kong on Jul 30, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)
In response to the ban, private businesses as varied as hairdresser salons and bus companies as well as churches provided space for the public to eat in.
One salon, Hair La Forme, posted on Facebook that it would provide water, napkins and air-conditioned toilets for free.
"Every time someone eats a meal it will be fully disinfected," it said above a photograph showing individual customer booths with leather seats and wide mirrors.
A woman rests after eating her lunch in a hair salon in Hong Kong on Jul 30, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Anthony Wallace)
Hong Kong had been a poster child for tackling the coronavirus, with local transmissions all but ended by early summer.
But the virus has returned in recent weeks, brought in by tens of thousands of people who were exempt from a mandatory quarantine imposed on most arrivals.
They included international ship and airline crews, as well as top businessmen and senior officials travelling to mainland China.
Hong Kong reported 149 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a daily record. The new infections include 145 that were locally transmitted.
More than 1,500 new infections have been detected since the start of July - half the total since the virus first hit the city in late January.
China denies sheltering 1MDB scandal fugitive Jho Low South China Morning PostView Full coverage on Google News
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