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Senin, 21 Desember 2020

Hong Kong joins European countries in banning flights from UK over new COVID-19 strain - CNA

HONG KONG: Hong Kong will ban all flights arriving from the United Kingdom from midnight on Monday (Dec 21), following the discovery of a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus in Britain.

The city joins many European countries that have banned flights from Britain, including France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Outside of Europe, several countries such as Canada, Iran and Saudi Arabia have also closed their doors to travellers from the UK.

The new strain could be up to 70 per cent more infectious, the United Kingdom has said.

Much is unknown about the strain, but experts said current vaccines should still be effective against it. The new strain has not been reported in Asia.

READ: Britain to hold crisis meeting over COVID-19 travel ban

READ: Britain says new COVID-19 strain 'out of control'

With authorities in the densely packed financial hub seeking to curb rising case numbers, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Monday there was a need to launch more vigorous and targeted measures to prevent further spreading of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

"We are now at a very critical stage," Chan said at a news briefing. "During the fourth wave, we have seen that the virus is highly transmissible and patients' conditions are more severe than previously."

People arriving into Hong Kong from the United Kingdom prior to Dec 22 must quarantine for a total of 21 days, versus the previously mandated 14 days of quarantine. Chan said the government was monitoring whether to extend the quarantine duration for all arrivals.

Hong Kong saw a spike in the number of cases at the end of November which prompted authorities to once again shut down dining in restaurants after 6pm and close gyms and beauty salons. The measures will be in place until at least Jan 6, Chan said.

READ: Hong Kong bans dining in restaurants, announces new restrictions to curb 'severe' COVID-19 wave

READ: Singapore, Hong Kong to defer air travel bubble launch

OTHER COUNTRIES MONITORING NEW STRAIN

South Korea, which imposes a 14-day quarantine for everyone entering the country, said on Monday it was reviewing new measures for flights from the UK, and would test those coming in from Britain twice before they were released from quarantine.

Taiwan, which also has a 14-day quarantine, said on Sunday there were no plans at present to stop flights from Britain.

An Indian government committee tasked with monitoring the pandemic met on Monday to discuss the new strain, but it was unclear whether flights to the UK would be halted. The UK is one of 23 countries that India shares an "air bubble" with.

Japan, where entry from Britain is already banned in principle, said it would keep in close touch with other countries as well as the World Health Organization to see how the new type of virus was spreading.

CNA has contacted Singapore authorities on whether there are plans to review existing guidelines for flights from Britain.

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2020-12-21 08:03:45Z
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Britain to hold crisis meeting over COVID-19 travel ban - CNA

LONDON: Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a crisis meeting on Monday (Dec 21), as a growing number of countries from France to Argentina blocked flights to Britain over a new highly infectious coronavirus strain the UK said was "out of control".

Johnson called the meeting to "discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK", a spokesman said.

More countries banned travel from the UK over the weekend and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for stronger containment measures as the British government warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus was "out of control".

As the WHO urged its European members to beef up measures against a new variant of COVID-19 circulating in Britain, France blocked people and goods crossing the Channel while Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Romania, The Netherlands and Belgium said they were moving to block air travel.

A German government source said the restriction could be adopted by the entire 27-member European Union and that countries were also discussing a joint response over sea, road and rail links with Britain.

READ: Britain says new COVID-19 strain 'out of control'

Despite growing concerns about the new strain, European Union experts believe it will not impact the effectiveness of existing vaccines, Germany's health minister said.

"According to everything we know so far" the new strain "has no impact on the vaccines", which remain "just as effective", Jens Spahn told public broadcaster ZDF, citing "talks between experts at European authorities".

France's ban on all but unaccompanied freight arriving from Britain is especially painful, as companies are scrambling to shift merchandise with days to go until Britain finally quits EU trade structures in the wake of Brexit.

But "flows of people or goods towards the UK will not be affected", Paris said in a statement.

Rome and Berlin said on Sunday they would both be suspending flights to and from Britain from midnight. Dublin said it would suspend air links with Britain for "at least" 48 hours.

The Netherlands imposed a ban on UK flights from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday and Belgium said it would follow suit from midnight with a ban on planes and trains from the UK.

Other countries that have halted flights to the UK include Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

READ: WHO says in close contact with UK officials on new COVID-19 virus variant

Alarm bells were ringing across Europe – which last week became the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago – after it appeared that a new, even more infectious strain of the virus was raging in parts of Britain.

Austria's health ministry told the APA news agency that it would also impose a flight ban, the details of which were still being worked out.

A spokeswoman for WHO Europe told AFP that "across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches".

Romania also said it had banned all flights to and from the UK for two weeks starting Monday afternoon.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel held a conference call on Sunday about the matter, Macron's office said.

UK U-TURN

Johnson said the infectiousness of the new strain had forced his hand into imposing a lockdown across much of England over the Christmas period.

"Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control," UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News after Johnson U-turned on his previously stated policy of easing containment measures over the festive season.

Scientists first discovered the new variant – which they believe is 70 per cent more transmissible – in a patient in September. Public Health England notified the government on Friday when modelling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain.

But Britain's chief medical officer Chris Whitty pointed out that while the new strain was greatly more infectious, "there is no current evidence to suggest (it) causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is under way to confirm this".

READ: Italy braces for Christmas lockdown as Europe battles COVID-19 surge

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,685,785 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Sunday.

And with the onset of colder winter weather in the northern hemisphere where respiratory diseases flourish, countries are bracing for new waves of COVID-19 with tighter restrictions, despite the economic damage such lockdowns wrought earlier this year.

The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.

Italy also announced a new regime of restrictions until Jan 6 that included limits on people leaving their homes more than once a day, closing non-essential shops, bars and restaurants and curbs on regional travel.

In Russia, health authorities said that the number of people who have died from the coronavirus has surpassed the 50,000 mark and now stands at 50,858.

VACCINATION ROLLOUT

The rapid rollout of vaccinations is now seen as the only effective way to end the crisis and the economically devastating shutdowns used to halt its spread.

Europe is expected to start a massive vaccination campaign after Christmas following the United States and Britain, which have begun giving jabs with an approved Pfizer-BioNTech shot, one of several leading candidates.

Russia and China have also started giving out jabs with their own domestically produced vaccines.

The United States on Friday authorised Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the first nation to authorise the two-dose regimen from Moderna – now the second vaccine to be deployed in a Western country after the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US lawmakers had agreed on pandemic spending powers for the Federal Reserve late on Saturday, clearing the way for a vote on a roughly US$900 billion COVID-19 relief package for millions of Americans.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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2020-12-21 07:52:30Z
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Minggu, 20 Desember 2020

Australia's most populous state says COVID-19 cases at 3-day low - Yahoo Singapore News

Associated Press

Biden's team vows action against hack as US threats persist

Once in office, President-elect Joe Biden will punish Russia for its suspected cyberespionage operation against the United States with financial sanctions and measures to hobble the Kremlin's ability to launch future hacks, his chief of staff said Sunday, as a GOP senator criticized President Donald Trump for having a “blind spot” when it comes to Moscow. “Those who are responsible are going to face consequences for it,” said Biden chief of staff Ron Klain. “These attacks will continue to escalate, and get worse if we do nothing,” said CEO Kevin Mandia.

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2020-12-21 03:33:45Z
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Japan sets record US$52 billion military budget with stealth jets, long-range missiles - CNA

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday (Dec 21), funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China's growing military power.

The Ministry of Defense will get a record 5.34 trillion yen (US$51.7 billion) for the year starting in April, up 1.1 per cent from this year. With Suga's large majority in parliament, enactment of the budget is all but certain.

Suga is continuing the controversial military expansion pursued by his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, to give Japan's forces new planes, missiles and aircraft carriers with greater range and potency against potential foes including neighbouring China.

China plans to raise its military spending 6.6 per cent this year, the smallest increase in three decades.

Japan is buying longer-range missiles and considering arming and training its military to strike distant land targets in China, North Korea and other parts of Asia.

READ: Australia, Japan to bolster defence ties amid China's rise

A planned jet fighter, the first in three decades, is expected to cost about US$40 billion and be ready in the 2030s. That project, which will be led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with help from Lockheed Martin, gets US$706 million in the new budget.

Japan will spend US$323 million to begin development of a long-range anti-ship missile to defend its southwestern Okinawan island chain.

Other big purchases include US$628 million for six Lockheed F-35 stealth fighters, including two short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) B variants that will operate off a converted helicopter carrier.

The military will also get US$912 million to build two compact warships that can operate with fewer sailors than conventional destroyers, easing pressure on a navy struggling to find recruits in an ageing population.

Japan also wants two new warships to carry powerful new Aegis air and ballistic missile defence radars that have much as three times the range of older models. The government has not yet estimated the cost of the plan, which replaces a project cancelled in June to construct two ground Aegis Ashore stations.

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2020-12-21 01:34:00Z
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Countries ban UK flights as new coronavirus strain spreads - CNA

LONDON: More countries banned travel from the UK and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for stronger containment measures as the British government warned that a highly infectious new strain of the virus was "out of control".

READ: Britain says new COVID-19 strain 'out of control'

Despite growing concerns about the new strain, European Union experts believe it will not impact the effectiveness of existing vaccines, Germany's health minister said.

But "flows of people or goods towards the UK will not be affected", Paris said in a statement.

Rome and Berlin said on Sunday they would both be suspending flights to and from Britain from midnight. Dublin said it would suspend air links with Britain for "at least" 48 hours.

The Netherlands imposed a ban on UK flights from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday and Belgium said it would follow suit from midnight with a ban on planes and trains from the UK.

Other countries that have halted flights to the UK include Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

READ: WHO says in close contact with UK officials on new COVID-19 virus variant

Austria's health ministry told the APA news agency that it would also impose a flight ban, the details of which were still being worked out.

A spokeswoman for WHO Europe told AFP that "across Europe, where transmission is intense and widespread, countries need to redouble their control and prevention approaches".

Romania also said it had banned all flights to and from the UK for two weeks starting Monday afternoon.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel held a conference call on Sunday about the matter, Macron's office said.

UK U-TURN

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the infectiousness of the new strain had forced his hand into imposing a lockdown across much of England over the Christmas period.

READ: Italy braces for Christmas lockdown as Europe battles COVID-19 surge

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,685,785 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT on Sunday.

The Netherlands is under a five-week lockdown until mid-January with schools and all non-essential shops closed to slow a surge in the virus.

In Russia, health authorities said that the number of people who have died from the coronavirus has surpassed the 50,000 mark and now stands at 50,858.

VACCINATION ROLLOUT

The rapid rollout of vaccinations is now seen as the only effective way to end the crisis and the economically devastating shutdowns used to halt its spread.

Russia and China have also started giving out jabs with their own domestically produced vaccines.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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Flights cancelled, holidays in disarray as Sydney battles pre-Christmas COVID-19 outbreak - CNA

SYDNEY: Dozens of domestic flights due to leave Sydney were cancelled on Monday (Dec 21) and authorities issued more health alerts across the city, as Australia battled to contain a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in its largest city four days before Christmas.

More than 50 locations including cafes, gyms, casinos and supermarkets across Sydney have been infected so far and authorities urged anyone who had visited the venues to immediately get tested and self-isolate.

A new virus cluster, which was detected in Sydney's northern coastal suburbs last week, grew to nearly 70 cases, prompting all other states and territories to close borders to Sydney's 5 million residents, throwing their Christmas travel plans into disarray.

Qantas Airways said several customers had cancelled their bookings between Sydney and Melbourne - one of the busiest routes in the world before the pandemic - and on a number of other domestic routes from Monday.

READ: Ban on dancing, singing in Sydney as COVID-19 cluster grows

"A number of flights will be cancelled ... we'll be contacting customers directly impacted by any flight changes," Qantas and its low-cost arm, Jetstar, said in a statement.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said it was "almost certain" there would be more cases on Monday in New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, because of the high number of tests being done.

"We have always said that there would be additional cases, additional breakouts during the course of the summer and right throughout most of 2021," Hunt told Australian Broadcasting Corp television.

"But we know how to do this as a country, we know how to flatten this curve. We have done it before."

READ: Parts of Sydney locked down as Australia battles growing COVID-19 cluster

Australia has largely avoided high coronavirus numbers compared with other developed nations, but the new cluster has sparked fears of a wider outbreak. The country has recorded just under 28,200 cases and 908 deaths since the pandemic began.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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2020-12-20 23:43:51Z
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Italy braces for Christmas lockdown as Europe battles COVID-19 surge - CNA

ROME: Millions of Italians braced for Christmas and New Year under tough new coronavirus restrictions announced Saturday (Dec 19) as Europe battled a winter surge in infections and Switzerland became the latest country to approve a virus vaccine.

Europe has become the first region in the world to pass 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out a year ago, killing more than 1.6 million worldwide and pitching the global economy into turmoil.

Among those testing positive this week for coronavirus was French President Emmanuel Macron, but his office said on Saturday his condition was stable and his examinations were giving reassuring results.

Italy became the latest country to announce a new regime of restrictions until Jan 6 that included limits on people leaving their homes more than once a day, closing non-essential shops, bars and restaurants and curbs on regional travel.

"It's right that they prohibit departures after Dec 20 if it means travelling in safety," Claudia Patrone, a 33-year-old lawyer, told AFP as she got off a train in Milan.

"I took the test before leaving, I stayed locked in my house, I didn't see anyone. The measure is right if everyone respects the rules and guarantees safety."

READ: Britain says new COVID-19 strain 'out of control'

READ: European nations halt UK flights, fearing new COVID-19 variant

Europe - the epicentre of the pandemic earlier this year - is once again seeing growing cases with officials fearing an explosion in infections after the Christmas holidays as families gather.

England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty confirmed Saturday that a new coronavirus strain which surfaced in the country could spread faster and called for greater public vigilance to reduce transmission.

A year after the pandemic first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the rapid rollout of vaccinations is now seen as the only effective way to end the pandemic and the economically devastating lockdowns used to halt its spread.

Europe is expected to start a massive vaccination campaign after Christmas following the United States and Britain which have begun giving jabs with an approved Pfizer-BioNTech shot, one of several leading candidates.

Russia and China have also started giving out jabs with their own domestically produced vaccines.

Swiss regulators on Saturday give the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine - the 16th country to do so and the first in continental Europe - with immunisation set to start within days.

"Those who are particularly vulnerable will have priority," Health Minister Alain Berset said in a video tweet, namely the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

Italians will have to prepare for Christmas under new strict virus restrictions AFP/Vincenzo PINTO

WORST-HIT NATION

The United States on Friday authorised Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, paving the way for millions of doses of a second jab to be shipped across the hardest-hit country in the world.

The United States is the first nation to authorise the two-dose regimen from Moderna, now the second vaccine to be deployed in a Western country after the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Millions of doses will start shipping out as early as this weekend from cold-storage sites outside Memphis and Louisville.

With the United States now registering more than 2,500 deaths a day from COVID-19, senior US officials including Vice President Mike Pence stepped up to receive early vaccinations on Friday.

Pence's public inoculation was the most high-profile attempt yet at persuading vaccine-skeptic Americans to join a national effort to halt a pandemic that has infected more than 74 million worldwide.

President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office on Jan 20, announced he would take the vaccine, also in public, on Monday.

In Europe, Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovic became the latest high-profile figure to test positive for COVID-19 a week after attending a European Union summit in Brussels.

The summit is believed to be where Macron also caught the virus. Macron's diagnosis on Thursday led to a host of European leaders and French officials rushing into self-isolation.

Macron, who is working in self-isolation from an official residence outside Paris, "is still presenting the same symptoms of the COVID-19 illness (fatigue, coughing, stiffness)", said a brief statement on Saturday, signed by his doctor.

But they were not preventing him from carrying out his duties and he was in stable condition.

"We have to be vigilant as the virus is gaining in strength again," the French leader said on Friday in a short video message.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for the coronavirus, is in stable condition and continuing with his duties AFP/CHARLES PLATIAU

READ: French President Emmanuel Macron's condition 'stable' after contracting COVID-19

In Australia, a cluster of cases on Sydney's northern beaches grew to 38, with residents ordered to stay home from late Saturday other than for essential reasons.

New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian pleaded with Sydney's more than five million residents to remain in their homes.

"We're hoping that will give us sufficient time to get on top of the virus so that we can then ease up for Christmas and the New Year," she said.

In India the total number of cases moved past 10 million on Saturday, the second highest in the world, although new infection rates appear to have fallen sharply in recent weeks.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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2020-12-20 15:52:19Z
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