N.Y. Cases Slow After Record; New Strain in Japan: Virus Update

Australia’s Queensland state will lift the three-day lockdown in the city of Brisbane after zero new coronavirus cases were recorded overnight, keeping in place some restrictions at shops and restaurants as well as public indoor mask requirements. Japan has found a variant of the virus similar to strains discovered in Britain and South Africa.

New York state’s new Covid-19 cases fell for a second day, easing from a record. California’s average daily deaths rose to a new high. North Dakota, once one of the worst-hit states in the U.S., has gone two days without a death.

Global virus infections topped 90 million, while more than 25 million vaccine shots have been administered worldwide.

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• Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click CVID on the terminal for global data on coronavirus cases and deaths.

The Japanese government will start large-scale PCR testing for the coronavirus in big cities as early as March, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

The test will be given for free at places such as college campuses, airports and hotels in Tokyo, Osaka and other major cities, the paper said without specifying where it got the information. By expanding testing, the government aims to gain a better grasp of overall infections including asymptomatic cases, according to the newspaper.

Australia’s Queensland state will lift the three-day lockdown on its capital city Brisbane from 6pm local time after zero new coronavirus cases were recorded overnight, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said. Still, some restrictions will remain on the amount of people allowed in shops and restaurants, and masks must be worn in public indoor places places like libraries and supermarkets, she told reporters Monday.

The fourth Australia vs. India cricket test will likely go ahead in Brisbane as planned on Friday with ground capacity halved and spectators required to wear masks unless seated, Palaszczuk said.

Doug Ford, the leader of Canada’s largest province, warned the health system is “on the brink of being overwhelmed.” Ontario has nearly 1,500 people in the hospital with Covid-19; the number has tripled since mid-November and is well above peak levels of April and May.

The province reported 3,945 new cases Sunday. More than 1,160 of those are in Toronto, the country’s financial capital. “We’re going to see some real turbulent waters over the next couple of months,” Ford said in a video message.

Covid-19 cases in Brazil surpassed 8.1 million with the addition of almost 30,000 cases on Sunday, according to Health Ministry data. The death toll increased by 469 to 203,100.

The governor of Sao Paulo State, Joao Doria, called on Brazil’s health regulator to show a “sense of urgency” about approving a vaccine made in partnership with China’s Sinovac.

About 150 U.S. medical troops are arriving in Southern California to help overwhelmed hospital workers. Most of them are Air Force nurses and Army medics, KABC-TV reported Sunday.

The Greater Los Angeles area added 14,482 new cases. Cases since the start of the pandemic exceeded 900,000 last week, meaning that more than one in 11 in the county’s 10 million residents have been infected at some point. Reported deaths increased by 166 on Sunday to 12,250.

The county said it has tested almost 5 million people, equivalent to half of its population, with 17% of them reporting positive results.

Fabrizio Soccorsi, 78, personal doctor to Pope Francis, has died, ANSA reported citing the Vatican media. He was hospitalized in Rome for cancer, though the cause of death was complications from Covid-19, the report said.

The pope chose him as his personal doctor in 2015. ANSA did not say if the two had recent contact. On Saturday, Francis said that getting a vaccine was an “ethical” obligation and that he would take one as soon as this week.

North Dakota reported no new virus fatalities for two consecutive days, the first time since early September. The state’s reported death toll has risen from 156 at the time to 1,353 on Sunday, while cumulative cases have increased from about 14,000 to almost 95,000, including 93 in the latest report. The outbreak eased — as it surges around the nation — after Governor Doug Burgum in November imposed a mask mandate and other restrictions.

Several thousand people protested in Old Town Square in central Prague on Sunday, demanding the government end lockdown restrictions, the police said.

The country of 10.7 million, which reported a record 17,730 new infections on Wednesday, is one of the world’s worst-hit by the current outbreak. It has recorded 13,115 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The government, which has closed most shops, services and schools, and imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., plans to keep the lockdown in place at least until Jan. 22.

California added 468 new deaths to 29,701, pushing the 14-day rolling average for fatalities to its highest since the start of the outbreak. The state had 49,685 new cases, bringing the total to almost 2.7 million — exceeding those in Italy, Spain and Germany.

With ICU capacity at its lowest level since the pandemic began, the state has been in crisis as Covid-19 patients overwhelmed medical centers. Most of the state is under some lockdown, with regions including Southern California having almost no ICU beds.

Denmark will most likely have to extend parts of its lockdown, which initially had been set to end in one week, because the U.K. variant of the virus is spreading fast, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

“We must prepare ourselves for a situation where we have to prolong some of the restrictions,” Frederiksen said late Sunday in an interview with broadcaster TV2. “Unfortunately things indicate it will take a bit longer.”

New York’s new cases dropped to 15,355, two days after rising to a daily record of 18,832, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. Hospitalizations fell, to 8,484, and another 151 people died. The state reported a slight reduction in the rate of positive tests, to 6.22%, though it remains high in other pockets around the state. The Mohawk Valley is above 10%, with Long Island at 9.60% and the Finger Lakes at 9.55%.

Earlier Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reported a positive test rate of 8.77%, based on a seven-day average. Two days ago, the city’s rate was 9.38%. In November, it was below 2%.

Lawmakers may have been exposed to the coronavirus while they were held in a secure room during Wednesday’s attack on Congress, the Capitol’s attending physician said Sunday.

“Many members of the House community were in protective isolation in room located in a large committee hearing space,” physician Brian Monahan said in a statement. “During this time, individuals may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection.”

The U.K. reported more than 50,000 cases for the 13th day in a row, with 54,940 new infections recorded on Sunday. Another 563 people died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total to 81,431. Fewer fatalities are often seen on weekends due to reporting delays.

Italy added 18,627 new cases Sunday, compared with 19,978 the previous day. Daily deaths dropped to 361 from 483 Saturday. Patients in ICUs rose to 2,615, the highest since Dec. 23.

Government is planning new restrictions to be approved by decree later this week. Italy has vaccinated 589,798 people.

The coronavirus is spreading faster in Germany than at any time since June, according to a key metric.

The moving four-day average reproduction rate hit 1.52 on Sunday, the Robert Koch Institute public health agency reported. That’s slightly higher than in late October, when Germany’s Covid-19 levels surged, prompting lockdown measures. The metric captures the average number of people infected by one infected person. The figure exceeded 2 in Germany in late June, after localized outbreaks at meatpacking plants.

The rate of Germans age 80 and older being infected increased to 309 cases per 100,000 people as of Sunday, up from 288 a week ago. That age bracket has accounted for half the Covid-related deaths in Germany, Health Minister Jens Spahn has said.

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said authorities have found a new strain of the coronavirus in four passengers arriving from Brazil.

The new variant has similarities to those found in the U.K. and South Africa, the NIID said in a statement Sunday. The information about the new strain is limited to its genetic make-up, and it’s difficult to determine at the moment how infectious it is, the institute said.