Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has doubled down on his plan to end pandemic lockdowns and state border closures by Christmas, even as rising cases increase the pressure on Sydney’s health-care system.
“Everyone can make plans for a family Christmas,” Morrison said in an interview with Melbourne’s Herald Sun paper on Sunday. “Nobody wants Covid to be the virus that stole Christmas, and we have a plan and the vaccinations available to ensure that’s not the case.”
Under Morrison’s plan, lockdown restrictions would be eased when 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, and borders re-opened at 80%. But while the plan was agreed to by state premiers last month, there are doubts that the Covid-free states of Western Australia and Queensland will open up to New South Wales and Victoria, which are grappling with the country’s worst outbreaks.
“The day of reckoning is coming for all states and territories that being locked down is not a way that you can maintain forever,” Michael Sukkar, assistant treasurer, said in an interview on Sky News. While border restrictions had been necessary to combat the spread of the virus, “we don’t have to think back too far to when being an Australian meant you could travel anywhere in this country, and I think Australians are longing to get back to that point.”
The Greater Sydney region has been in lockdown since June, yet case numbers continue to rise. The health-care system is feeling the strain with hospitalizations rising above 1,000 for the first time and the state government isn’t expecting patient numbers to peak until October.
Key developments:
China reports one asymptomatic patient in Guangdong
China’s National Health Commission reported one local asymptomatic patient in the southern province of Guangdong on Saturday.
The country managed to quash an outbreak of the more infectious Delta variant after aggressive curbs, with just a handful of local and asymptomatic cases cropping up in recent days.
Japan to issue online vaccine certificates
The Japanese government will issue online Covid-19 vaccine certificates from December, Nikkei reported.
The government plans for the application process and issuance to be conducted via mobile app, according to Nikkei, without citing where it got the information. The certificate will be in a form of a QR code, the report said.
Local governments currently issue the proof of inoculation in print for those with upcoming overseas travel plans. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has floated its use as a way to allow freer movement, saying the government will consider how to actively use vaccination certificates for reopening bars, restaurants, travel and events.
Brazil, Mexico report more cases, deaths
Brazil reported 21,804 cases in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data. The country’s coronavirus death toll rose by 692 to 583,362.
Mexico reported 15,586 new Covid-19 cases Saturday, bringing the total to 3,420,880, according to the Health Ministry. Deaths increased by 647 to 262,868.
Alabama school cases double
Alabama reported almost 9,200 cases over the last week among students and staff, up from about 4,330 the week before, state data released on Friday show. Among the counties reporting the most infections were Jefferson, the state’s most populous, and Mobile, in the southwest, the data show.
The spike comes as Alabama hits record cases — 33,000 in the week that ended on Friday—and schools are reopening. Despite the lack of state mask mandate, most school districts require masking.
On Friday, with hospitals overwhelmed, Governor Kay Ivey said she designated $12.3 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to attract traveling nurses.
Brazil bars Coronavac shots from unapproved plant
Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa prohibited the distribution and use of Coronavac vaccines batches bottled by the manufacturer Sinovac in a plant not inspected and not approved by the agency, according to a statement.
The measure was taken to mitigate a possible health risk, the agency said.
Anvisa was informed by Butantan Institute that Sinovac sent 25 batches to Brazil totaling 12.1 million doses. Another 17 batches with 9 million doses were also bottled in a place not inspected by Anvisa and are in the process of being sent and released to Brazil.
Covid claims 48% of ICU beds in parts of US
Use of intensive-care units to treat US Covid-19 patients increased to 29% in the week through Tuesday, drawing closer to a peak of 31% reached in January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ICU capacity was tightest in a region comprising Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, with 48% devoted to Covid patients. Ranking next at 44% was an eight-state bloc from Kentucky to Florida that includes much of the South. Intensive-care utilization was lowest at 9% in a group consisting mainly of New York and New Jersey, according to a regular CDC data set published Friday.
Hawaii hospitals face oxygen shortage
Hawaii is running out of oxygen and may have to ration care after Covid hospitalizations reached a record, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported. With field hospitals being erected and federally supplied health-care workers deployed, the state could run short of oxygen as soon as Monday, the newspaper reported.
The Delta variant has pushed infections to the highest point of the pandemic. Almost 6,300 weekly cases were reported on Friday, more than triple the level of the end of July.
Texas school districts close
At least 45 Texas school districts have stopped in-person learning because of Covid-19 cases, affecting about 42,000 students, the Texas Tribune reported, quoting the state’s Education Agency.
Weekly cases statewide rose to almost 128,000 on Friday, the most since early February, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Children’s hospitals in the state have reported surging numbers of pediatric cases.
Governor Greg Abbott is battling with local districts over his ban on mask mandates in schools, which the state isn’t enforcing amid legal challenges.
FDA pushes for Moderna booster shot data
US health regulators are seeking additional coronavirus booster shot data from Moderna Inc., as the Biden administration expects to begin a widespread booster campaign this month with only the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech vaccine, people familiar with the matter say.
Moderna announced Friday that it had “completed” its submission of data to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization of boosters. The FDA has been seeking more data as Moderna’s submission rolled in, the people added.
In particular, the FDA is looking for more information on the efficacy of a 100-microgram dose—the same as the first two shots people received—not just the 50-microgram booster submitted by Moderna as a potential booster, one of the people said.
Germany to give Vietnam Astra doses
Germany will give Vietnam 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to support the Southeast Asian country during its coronavirus outbreak, news website VnExpress reported.
Japan, which previously committed to giving Vietnam 3 million vaccine doses, said it will provide the nation an unspecified additional number of doses, according to a post on the Vietnam government’s website. Vietnam, which is battling its worst virus outbreak, has fully vaccinated about 3% of its population, according to the health ministry.