COVID-19 variants threaten global recovery, G20 warns - CNA

VENICE: An upsurge in new coronavirus variants and poor access to vaccines in developing countries threaten the global economic recovery, finance ministers of the world's 20 largest economies warned on Saturday (Jul 10).

The G20 gathering in the Italian city of Venice was the ministers' first face-to-face meeting since the start of the pandemic. Decisions include the endorsement of new rules aimed at stopping multinationals shifting profits to low-tax havens.

That paves the way for G20 leaders to finalise a new global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent at a Rome summit in October, a move that could recoup hundreds of billions of dollars for public treasuries straining under the COVID-19 crisis.

READ: G20 endorses historic global tax reform

A final communique said the global economic outlook had improved since G20 talks in April thanks to the rollout of vaccines and economic support packages, but acknowledged its fragility in the face of variants like the fast-spreading Delta.

"The recovery is characterised by great divergences across and within countries and remains exposed to downside risks, in particular the spread of new variants of the COVID-19 virus and different paces of vaccination," it read.

While G20 nations promised to use all policy tools to combat COVID-19, the Italian hosts of the meeting said there was also agreement to avoid imposing new restrictions on people.

"We all agree we should avoid introducing again any restriction on the movement of citizens and the way of life of people," said Italian Economy Minister Daniele Franco, whose country holds the rotating G20 presidency through to December.

The communique, while stressing support for "equitable global sharing" of vaccines, did not propose concrete measures, merely acknowledging a recommendation for US$50 billion in new vaccine financing by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization.

Differences in vaccination levels between the world's rich and poor remain vast. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called the divergence a "moral outrage" that also undermines wider efforts to tame the spread of the virus.

While some of the wealthiest countries have now given over two-thirds of their citizens at least one shot of vaccine, that figure falls to well below 5 per cent for many African nations.

READ: COVID-19 Delta variant puts brakes on return to normality

Brandon Locke, of the public health non-profit group ONE Campaign, decried what he described as the G20's inaction, calling it "a lose-lose situation for everyone".

"Not only will it cost lives in poorer countries, it increases the risk of new variants that will wreak havoc in richer ones," he said.

Italy said the G20 would return to the issue of vaccine funding for poor countries ahead of a Rome summit in October and that new variants was an area that needed to be looked at. It did not give further details.

"We must agree on a process for everyone on the planet to be able to access vaccines. If we don't, the IMF predicts that the global economy will lose US$9 trillion," religious development organisation Jubilee USA Network said.

It was referring to an IMF forecast that international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines could speed world economic recovery and add US$9 trillion to global income by 2025.

TAX HOLDOUTS

A Reuters tally of new COVID-19 infections shows them rising in 69 countries, with the daily rate pointing upwards since late-June and now hitting 478,000. 

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the world was facing "a worsening two-track recovery" partly driven by the differences in vaccine availability.

The biggest policy initiative at the talks was a well-flagged agreement on the global corporate tax rate, capping eight years of wrangling on the issue.

Setting a floor of 15 per cent is intended to stop multinationals shopping around for the lowest tax rate. It would also change the way that companies like Amazon and Google are taxed, basing it partly on where they sell products and services, rather than on the location of their headquarters.

READ: What the G7’s global tax reform plan could mean for Singapore

Commentary: Global minimum tax reflects rich countries' interests, may not generate incomes for others

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said any countries opposed to it would be encouraged to sign up by October.

"We'll be trying to do that, but I should emphasise it's not essential that every country be on board," she said, adding the deal included mechanisms against the use of tax havens anywhere.

G20 members account for more than 80 per cent of world gross domestic product, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the population of the planet, including big-hitters the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and India.

In addition to European Union holdouts Ireland, Estonia and Hungary, other countries that have not signed on include Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Barbados and St Vincent and Grenadines.

EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told reporters there were still discussions about what level of a company's profits should be taxed at national level, and whether other sectors beyond financial services and mining should be exempt.

Among other sticking points, a fight in the US Congress over President Joe Biden's planned tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans could cause problems, as could a separate EU plan for a digital levy on tech companies.

The G20 officials called on the International Monetary Fund "to quickly present actionable options" for rich countries to channel part of a US$650 billion issuance of IMF currency reserves to poorer countries.

They stopped short of endorsing the IMF's US$100 billion target for transferring Special Drawing Rights to countries in need, but called for contributions from all able countries to reach "an ambitious target."

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

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2021-07-11 00:56:15Z
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90-year-old Belgian woman infected with 'two virus variants at once' - CNA

PARIS: A 90-year-old woman who died after falling ill with COVID-19 was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus at the same time, researchers in Belgium said on Sunday (Jul 12), adding that the rare phenomenon may be underestimated.

The unvaccinated woman, who lived alone and received at-home nursing care, was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Aalst after a spate of falls in March and tested positive for COVID-19 the same day.

While her oxygen levels were initially good, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she died five days later.

When medical staff tested for the presence of any variants of concern they found that she was carrying both the Alpha strain, which originated in Britain, and the Beta variant first detected in South Africa.

"Both these variants were circulating in Belgium at the time, so it is likely that the lady was co-infected with different viruses from two different people," said molecular biologist Anne Vankeerberghen from the OLV Hospital who led the research.

"Unfortunately, we don't know how she became infected."

READ: Is it all Greek to you? COVID-19 variants get new names​​​​​​​

Vankeerberghen said it was difficult to say whether the co-infection played a role in the fast deterioration of the patient.

The research, which has not yet been submitted to a medical journal for publication, is being presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.

While Vankeerberghen said in a press release that there had been "no other published cases" of similar co-infections, she added that the "phenomenon is probably underestimated".

This is because of limited testing for variants of concern, she said, calling for an increase in the use of fast PCR testing to detect known variant mutations.

In January, scientists in Brazil reported that two people had been simultaneously infected with two different strains of the coronavirus, but the study has yet to be published in a scientific journal.

In comments reacting to the research, Lawrence Young, a virologist and Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Warwick, said it was not a surprise to find an individual infected with more than one strain.

"This study does highlight the need for more studies to determine whether infection with multiple variants of concern affects the clinical course of COVID-19 and whether this in any way compromises the efficacy of vaccination," he added.

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

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2021-07-10 23:51:34Z
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What might have caused the huge spike in Indonesia's COVID-19 cases post-Idul Fitri holiday - CNA

JAKARTA: Indonesia has been grappling with a surge in COVID-19 infections for the past few weeks, consistently recording more than 30,000 new daily cases.   

On Friday (Jul 9), the country reported 38,124 cases. There are now more than 2.4 million infections and over 64,000 deaths.  

The spike came after Idul Fitri’s holiday in mid-May where people were said to have returned to their hometowns despite a travel ban and crowds filled tourist spots. 

The government had anticipated a hike in COVID-19 cases as last year's Idul Fitri’s holiday led to an increase of about 60 to 70 per cent of infections. 

Thus they added up to 72,000 isolation beds, about 20,000 of which were already occupied before the holiday. 

A total of 7,500 intensive care unit beds, of which around 2,000 were occupied before Idul Fitri, were also added.

However, this year’s post-Idul Fitri COVID-19 cases spike is significantly higher than last year’s.

People rest on veld beds inside the emergency ward for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients at a government-run hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 29, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

This year, several regions have seen an increase of more than 200 per cent, leading many hospitals to be under severe strain.  

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan even admitted on Thursday (Jul 1) the government did not expect the spike would be so high.

The government’s spokeswoman for COVID-19 handling and vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi told CNA that one reason for this drastic increase was people taking the health protocols more lightly nowadays.

Another reason was the presence of the new COVID-19 variants. 

Experts interviewed by CNA believed the highly contagious Delta variant, which did not exist last year, played a significant and dominant role in the influx of COVID-19 cases.

"It is proven everywhere in the world that this Delta variant virus is very, very easily transmittable,” said Professor Zubairi Djoerban, head of the COVID-19 task force at the Indonesian Medical Association. 

READ: Indonesia's COVID-19 situation nears 'catastrophe', says Red Cross

Nevertheless, the experts noted that multiple factors contributed to the current dire condition.

Factors such as the return of migrant workers from overseas at the same time when people ignored a travel ban in the lead-up to the Idul Fitri holiday, short quarantine period and weak tracing and testing also played a role, they said. 

DELTA IS RAGING

Prof Djoerban said that because the Delta strain is more dangerous compared to the initial variant of COVID-19, those who are infected with Delta tend to need treatment at a hospital. 

“That's why all the hospitals are now full,” he said. 

Many hospitals in Indonesia have been overwhelmed by the latest coronavirus wave AFP/Rezas

He also said that previously people who have been infected by COVID-19 would develop an antibody after they have recovered. 

However, the antibodies developed by the previous strains do not seem to offer much protection against the Delta variant.

“So there are some people who already got COVID-19 but then got reinfected,” he said. 

Prof Djoerban noted that people who have been vaccinated can still be infected by the Delta variant, even though the proportion of that in Indonesia is not high at the moment. 

“That’s why after vaccination we shouldn’t be euphoric and feel overconfident. We still need to obey health protocols,” he added. 

READ: Malls shut, dining-in banned as Indonesia unveils broad emergency COVID-19 curbs in Java and Bali

Dr Dwi Bambang, also believed that the new variants - including Delta - is a contributing factor to the current situation. 

The pulmonologist who works at three different hospitals in Central Java’s capital Semarang said that he now has more patients compared to last year. 

“The wards are all full ... getting an ICU with a ventilator is hard, and there are many in the emergency rooms whose (oxygen) saturation is declining,” said Dr Bambang. 

While most of his patients are 35 to 60 years old, he also had a COVID-19 patient who was four years old. 

LENGTH OF QUARANTINE PERIOD IS AN ISSUE

The Delta variant is believed to have entered Indonesia from people who arrived from overseas. 

Epidemiologist Dr Atik Choirul Hidajah said apart from many people travelling to their hometowns last May, there were also many Indonesian migrant workers who returned from abroad. 

Dr Hidajah said that conceptually an infectious disease consists of three elements namely the host, the agent and the environment. 

READ: Jokowi aims to vaccinate 7.5 million Jakartans by end August, but experts say herd immunity is not a given

When talking about COVID-19, the host is people and the agent is the virus.

The environment is the physical environment such as rooms with ventilation as well as regulations to curb the spread of the virus. 

“The host during the Idul Fitri period was the people who went on an exodus to meet their family and acquaintances, but we must also remember that not only those people were the ones who travelled domestically for Idul Fitri. 

“There were also many migrant workers who arrived from abroad,” she said. 

Although it is mandatory for anyone who arrives in Indonesia to show a negative PCR test, the enforcement may not always be strict, said the epidemiologist from Surabaya’s Airlangga University.

Until Monday, new arrivals would have to undergo quarantine for five days, but Dr Hidajah said the normal incubation period of COVID-19 is 14 days. 

The quarantine period is 14 days for arrivals from India, Pakistan and the Philippines has only been imposed since April.

But even with the 14-day quarantine regulation, the police caught some arrivals from India violating the regulation at the end of April. 

Passengers at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec 23, 2020. (File photo: Antara Foto/Muhammad Iqbal via Reuters)

Dr Masdalina Pane, head of the Professional Development Division of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiology Experts (PAEI), concurred that the five-day quarantine period is too short and it has contributed to the spike in recent cases. 

“The quarantine period shouldn’t be five days, it should be 14 days,” said Dr Pane.  

“I believe this is why the cases continue to climb, apart from the (emergence of) Delta variant.”

Last weekend, the government said that the quarantine period for new arrivals in Indonesia would be extended to eight days starting Jul 6. 

CONTACT TRACERS WERE REDUCED

Another factor contributing to the rise in recent cases is the fact that the government has reduced the number of contact tracers a few months ago, said Dr Pane. 

Back in January, the task force recruited 8,000 tracers in 59 regencies as well as cities following a spike believed to have resulted from the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. These places were highlighted because they contributed to 70 per cent of the infections in the country. 

But the number of tracers were reduced at the end of March, Dr Pane said, after the infection rate started to decline. 

“The main essence of tracing is containment, disciplined isolation and quarantine,” said Dr Pane, who is also a member of the national COVID-19 task force tracing subdivision. 

READ: Jokowi says Sinovac COVID-19 vaccination can begin for those aged 12 to 17 immediately

Dr Hidajah in Surabaya said that they have conducted research and their latest data as of the end of June showed that the tracing ratio is 1:10, while the standard should be at least 1:30. 

This means that for one person who is COVID-19 positive, only about 10 close contacts were traced.   

“Because the suspects have not been traced, so there is no testing. And if people are not tested, they cannot be treated. 

“So we should enhance this. And there are many regions which have limited labs.”

People wear protective face masks at a shopping mall, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

Thus, she suggested recruiting more tracers.

She further noted that suspected patients should be isolated at home but nobody can guarantee that people actually stay at home.

If the tracing and testing are still limited and the quarantine period remains short, both epidemiologists said the infection rate will not decline. 

The health minister had said that Indonesia would see a peak in COVID-19 cases at the end of June or early July, but case numbers have continued to rise so far. For Dr Pane, the worst is yet to come. 

“Previously, the peak in January was lowered by intervention (with active contact tracing). If there is no intervention now, cases will continue to rise, many will be infected,” she said. 

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

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Unlinked Covid-19 cases in S'pore increase from 1 to 9 in past week - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - The number of unlinked Covid-19 cases in the community has increased from one case in the week before to nine in the past week, reported Singapore's Ministry of Health on Saturday (July 10).

There were no locally transmitted cases reported in Singapore on Saturday, for the first time since April 25.

The six new confirmed cases were imported, and were already on stay-home notice (SHN) or isolated on arrival in Singapore. Three were detected on arrival in Singapore and the other three tested positive during SHN or isolation.

The six new cases take Singapore's total to 62,684.

The number of new cases in the community has decreased from 37 cases in the week before to 17 cases in the past week.

There are currently 22 active Covid-19 clusters, with three to 94 infections each.

At present, 76 patients remain in hospital. Most are well and under observation.

There are two in critical condition in the intensive care unit, while seven require oxygen supplementation.

Over the past 28 days, 24 local cases required oxygen supplementation, were admitted to the intensive care unit, or died.

Among them, 20 were unvaccinated while four were partially vaccinated.

Singapore has had 36 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Read the full MOH press release here.

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2021-07-10 13:41:04Z
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Covid-19 coming home to roost for Malaysia's Umno as crisis worsens - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysians are struggling to reconcile a deepening mix of anger and hopelessness as both politicking and the country's deadliest Covid-19 wave fester.

Last week, both white flag and black flag campaigns - desperate cries for help and protest against the government respectively, in lieu of superspreader street rallies - kicked off as many gave up on asking the authorities for aid and turned to one another for rescue.

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2021-07-10 04:32:59Z
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French father goes on hunger strike for kids 'abducted' by Japanese wife - CNA

TOKYO: A Frenchman in Japan who says his children were abducted by their Japanese mother began a hunger strike in Tokyo Saturday (Jul 10), in a protest he hopes will bring international attention to his fight to be reunited with his family.

"I've given everything, I've lost my job, my house and my savings in the last three years. I weigh 80kg now, and I'll give it all until the very last gram," Vincent Fichot told AFP, sitting at the entrance to a train station in Tokyo, not far from the new Olympic stadium.

Fichot, 39, who has lived in Japan for 15 years, said he will not give up his hunger strike until his children, a boy and a girl aged six and four, are returned to him.

Failing that, he said, "I want the French authorities to show me they are serious and that they really want to defend my kids, and that they will impose sanctions against Japan until Japan agrees to protect my children's rights."

His wife has accused him in court of domestic violence, Fichot said, but later "retracted" the claim, and the Japanese justice system now has "nothing to reproach me for", he said.

"I've tried everything, I've tried to convince my wife by saying to her that it was not good for the kids," he added. "Right now I don't even know if they are alive."

Joint custody of children in cases of divorce or separation does not exist legally in Japan, where parental abductions are common and often tolerated by local authorities.

No official numbers exist, but rights groups have estimated that about 150,000 minors are forcibly separated from a parent every year in the East Asian archipelago.

Among those are some bi-national children, like those of Fichot, who, having hit a brick wall with Japanese authorities, has now turned to the French state and international bodies.

He plans to continue his hunger strike day and night - and says if police chase him away he will go elsewhere.

Members of a Tokyo-based support committee, which includes other foreign parents in the same situation, will bring him water, clothes, and help him charge his electronic devices.

Fichot also plans to post a short daily video on his Facebook page to publicise his situation and keep followers up to date on his physical condition.

French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in Tokyo at the end of the month to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

During his last visit to the country, Macron spoke out in support of French parents separated from their children in Japan, condemning "situations of distress that are completely unacceptable".

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2021-07-10 10:20:20Z
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Chinese Communist Party emerges from shadows during Hong Kong crackdown - CNA

HONG KONG: China's Communist Party has abandoned its tradition of working from the shadows in Hong Kong as authorities pursue a sweeping crackdown on critics and remould the financial hub in the mainland's image.

While Hong Kong was returned by colonial Britain in 1997, Beijing has historically been wary about making the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) too visible in a city where many hail from families who fled the worst excesses of its rule.

"There were a few reasons for the CCP to be kept out of sight," political analyst Willy Lam told AFP. "The CCP was associated with a series of horrendous mistakes including the Cultural Revolution, the three years of famine and so forth."

Beijing's quiet support for leftist riots that killed about 50 Hong Kongers in 1967 - and Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square incident - also left a deeply ingrained suspicion of the party for many residents.

Ahead of the handover, former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping - creator of the "one country, two systems" model where Hong Kong could keep key freedoms and autonomy - moved to calm nerves by assuring residents that they did not need to love the party to be deemed patriots.

READ: Hong Kong leader praises China's plan to install 'patriots'

"We don't demand that they be in favour of China's socialist system; we only ask them to love the motherland and Hong Kong," he said.

With 90 million members, the party is ubiquitous on the mainland but in Hong Kong it has been all but invisible.

The party itself has never registered as an official entity and the city's proxy leaders have always denied being members - at least while in office.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

But the CCP has moved increasingly centre-stage in recent years, culminating most prominently in this month's festivities marking the centenary of the party's founding.

Hammer and sickle flags have sprung up across the city in recent weeks along with huge billboards proclaiming the anniversary.

READ: Hong Kong silenced as China celebrates Chinese Communist Party centenary

The local government hosted an exhibition titled A Hundred Years of Prosperity and Greatness while Beijing's four government agencies also held a prominent symposium with a series of bellwether speeches.

It was the first time high-profile events had been put on for a party anniversary in Hong Kong and it offered a vivid illustration of how far Deng's definition of patriotism has changed under President Xi Jinping.

The definition of patriotism has changed under Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Photo: AFP/Anthony WALLACE)

"Safeguarding the leadership of the CCP is safeguarding 'one country, two systems'," Luo Huining, director of Beijing's Liaison Office, said in his symposium speech.

"Those who raise a hue and cry for ending the one-party rule ... are the real enemies of Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," he added.

The party's increased visibility comes as authorities enforce a political orthodoxy on the once outspoken city in response to huge and often violent protests two years ago.

Beijing has imposed a sweeping national security law that criminalised much dissent and rolled out a campaign dubbed "Patriots rule Hong Kong" to vet people's political views.

Protests have been all but banned using anti-coronavirus measures and most of the city's pro-democracy opposition leaders are now in jail, facing prosecution or have fled overseas.

"LOVE THE PARTY"

"Beijing has turned to direct governance over Hong Kong," veteran journalist and political analyst Johnny Lau told AFP.

"The representatives of the central government do not mind coming forward to the front stage and showing their presence and leadership.

"With 'Patriots rule Hong Kong' and the new security law ... authorities have implied that people now have to love the country and love the party," he added.

Hong Kongers with connections to Beijing's officialdom have suggested the same.

READ: China promotes security officials to senior roles in Hong Kong

In an interview published on Wednesday by ultra-nationalist mainland media outlet Guancha.cn, Lau Siu-kai, a former chief advisor at Hong Kong's central policy unit, said the CCP had once been considered a "sensitive phrase" in the city.

As a result the party had chosen not to carry out its activities publicly.

But that approach, Lau said, was now "outmoded" because protests had tried to turn Hong Kong into "an infiltration base that could be used by opposition forces to challenge the CCP's rule", he said.

Now that Hong Kong's democracy opposition had been "utterly defeated and scattered", he added, it was time for the party to "seize the power of discourse".

Hong Kong officials have embraced that idea.

After new laws were passed ordering all public office holders to make oaths of loyalty, Erick Tsang - the secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs - said there was now no room for political ambiguity.

"You cannot say that you are patriotic but you do not love the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party or you do not respect it," he said.

"This does not make sense."

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