U.S. Clears J&J Vaccine; Brazil Capital Locks Down: Virus Update

U.S. cases declined on Saturday, while Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine was cleared for use in the country. Making a third shot available could plug gaps in the nation’s immunization campaign as concern grows over virus variants.

Meanwhile, France’s European affairs minister said that European Union approval for Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine may come in two weeks. France’s Moselle region faces additional border controls with Germany, according to a report.

The U.K. will create a 5 billion-pound ($7 billion) grant program to help pandemic-hit businesses, with plans to be announced on Wednesday. A British project to track the evolution of the coronavirus for signs that it is gaining power to spread or to kill has emerged as a global model.

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Reported U.S. cases declined on Saturday to 68,049, a daily total that’s little changed from the previous seven-day average, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.

Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease official, said Friday that if “we plateau at 70,000” daily cases, that would keep the U.S. at the cusp of the risk for “another surge.”

The U.S. added 1,536 deaths, the fewest since Monday, according to the data.

Germany plans to tighten border controls with the French region of Moselle, DPA news wire reported on Sunday.

Entry rules from the area that borders Germany will be tightened after the Robert Koch Institute classified Moselle as a so-called virus-variant area effective Tuesday. Travelers from the department of approximately one million inhabitants will have to show a negative test from within last 48 hours before entering Germany.

French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said that France was in discussions with Germany to avoid borders being closed. Daily tests for cross-border workers are part of the measures being discussed, Beaune said in an interview with France Inter radio on Sunday.

Beaune also said on Sunday that the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be approved in the European Union in two weeks, during an interview with France Inter radio.

The total number of coronavirus fatalities in Iran surpassed 60,000 on Sunday, with 93 deaths over the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported. The country saw an average daily rate of 82 deaths from the virus over the last seven days, with the number remaining below 100 since Jan. 7.

The Czech Republic, which is currently fighting one the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, reported 7,798 new cases in the 24 hours through Saturday, its highest weekend number since Jan. 9.

The government on Friday announced the strictest measures it has imposed since the beginning of the pandemic, including limits on travel between counties and closure of shops, all schools and preschools.

Coronavirus infections in the United Arab Emirates have fallen by more than a fifth from a late January peak, a slower rate of decline than in Israel and the United Kingdom.

Cases started rising again at the end of last year and peaked in late January, according to the seven-day average. While the spike led to some restrictions being reintroduced, the UAE has so far steered clear of another full lockdown.

New World Development Co. has closed its flagship mall in Hong Kong for two days after a cluster of new Covid-19 cases centered there emerged over the past week. Deep cleaning will begin today at the K11 MUSEA shopping center, which will remain shut through Monday.

A cluster of 44 infections has been found from a Chinese restaurant in the mall, health officials said on Sunday. A worker in the restaurant is believed to have passed the virus to coworkers and patrons more than a week earlier.

Moderna will supply about 1.8 million doses of its vaccine to Germany by the end of the first quarter, Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a tweet. He welcomed the news and said it ensured predictability over vaccinations in German federal states.

Germany’s total confirmed cases rose to 2,444,177 on Sunday, with 7,671 new infections recorded. Deaths rose to 70,092, including 153 new mortalities, as 5,797 people recovered to take the total number to 2,252,970.

A total of 5.91 million Covid vaccine doses have now been administered in Germany, according to data collected by Bloomberg News and Johns Hopkins

Poland, which tightened Covid restrictions this weekend, registered 10,099 cases and 114 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. It’s the first time since November that new infections topped 10,000 for five straight days.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said on Sunday there will be more coronavirus support in this week’s budget. “I said at the beginning of this crisis that I would do whatever it took to protect people, families and businesses through this crisis,” Sunak told Sky News, when asked if a furlough program would be extended beyond April. “I remain completely committed to that.” Sunak also said he will lay out plans to shore up public finances.

India has fixed the price of coronavirus vaccines at $3.40 (Rs 250) a dose at private hospitals for people older than 60 and for those over 45 with co-morbidities from March 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. The government will offer free inoculations at state-owned hospitals, according to a statement. More than 1.5 million shots have been given so far, it said.

Human trials for a second locally-made Iranian Covid-19 vaccine, Razi Cov Pars, started on Sunday, state television reported, as the country continues to push its own drug development initiative to begin mass inoculation by summer.

The country also took delivery of 250,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine early on Sunday, boosting plans to inoculate 1.3 million people from vulnerable groups within the next three weeks.

Over the past day, 11,359 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Russia, taking the total to 4,246,079, an increase of 0.27%. Some 379 deaths were confirmed, while 12,391 people were recovered.

A British project to track the evolution of the coronavirus for signs it is gaining power to spread or kill has emerged as a global model as countries step up efforts to quell the pandemic. The Covid-19 Genomics U.K. Consortium, led by University of Cambridge microbiologist Sharon Peacock, plans to expand training for everyone from lab technicians to policy makers to boost worldwide monitoring. Other countries are also racing to catch up in sequencing. “We haven’t got eyes on the virus in many parts of the world,” Peacock said.

A mass-vaccination program using Sinopharm shots has significantly cut hospitalization rates in the United Arab Emirates, according to China National Biotec Group Co., a unit of Sinopharm. China National Biotech cited remarks from Dr. Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee, who also said in an online forum that there were no intensive-care admissions or mortalities among those vaccinated.

The U.K. economy will make a strong rebound as anti-virus curbs are lifted, according to Clare Smyth, the first British woman to be awarded three Michelin stars in her own right. “People have saved a lot of money this year and they want to spend it,” Smyth said. The government plans to ease restrictions from May 17, paving the way for restaurants to welcome diners back. “I am extremely optimistic,” Smyth said. “The economy is like a coiled spring.”

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab Holdings Inc. is setting up drive-thru vaccination services across Indonesia to help the nation inoculate more than 180 million people against Covid-19. The program, undertaken in coordination with the government, started on Sunday on the resort island of Bali, with about 3,000 people working in the tourism industry present to receive their first jab. Indonesia has made it mandatory for eligible citizens to take a shot.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 300,000 doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca Plc vaccine arrived in Sydney on Sunday.

AstraZeneca’s shot was the second vaccine approved for use in Australia, after rigorous testing to ensure it was safe, effective and manufactured to a very high standard, Morrison said. The vaccine will now undergo further batch testing, with the rollout across the country due to start on March 8.

“We will now be able to scale up the vaccination rollout to our priority groups, including our most vulnerable Australians and to our frontline border and health workers,” the prime minister said.

A further 50 million vaccines will be manufactured onshore and 1 million of these doses will be delivered each week from late March.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he’s considering moves to aid firms like Qantas Airways Ltd. and others that are still struggling with the fallout from the pandemic…