China Covid pivot sparks jitters worldwide

By Laurie Chen, with Matthew Walsh in Tianjin

Beijing (AFP)

Dec 28, 2022

Beijing's sudden pivot away from containing Covid-19 has caused jitters around the world, with the United States saying it may restrict travel from China following its decision to end mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals.

China late Monday scrapped quarantine for inbound travelers from January 8 onwards, dismantling the last remaining piece of its stringent zero-Covid policy and ending some of the world's harshest border restrictions.

The move was greeted with jubilation by Chinese citizens, who rushed to book international flights, triggering a surge in ticket prices.

Hospitals and crematoriums across China continue to be overwhelmed by an influx of mostly elderly people.

AFP reporters saw dozens of mostly elderly Covid patients lying on gurneys in overflowing hospital emergency wards in Tianjin, 140 kilometers (87 miles) southwest of the capital Beijing Wednesday.

Medical staff are "pretty much all" expected to continue working despite testing positive for the virus, one doctor said.

Other countries have expressed concerns about the potential for new variants to emerge as China battles the world's biggest surge in infections.

US officials said late Tuesday they were considering Covid entry restrictions on travelers from China, after countries including Japan and India introduced PCR testing on arrival for Chinese passengers.

"There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC," the US officials said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

The United States is "considering taking similar steps" to countries such as Japan and Malaysia, they added.

Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own, said Wednesday that it would also screen travelers from the mainland for the virus.

- 'Predictable and under control' -

China's loosening of measures effectively brought the curtain down on a zero-Covid regime of mass testing, lockdowns and long quarantines that has stalled its economy and triggered large-scale nationwide protests.

"Currently the development of China's epidemic situation is overall predictable and under control," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Wednesday.

"Hyping, smearing and political manipulation with ulterior motives can't stand the test of facts," Wang added, calling Western media reporting on China's Covid surge "completely biased".

All passengers arriving in China have had to undergo mandatory centralized quarantine since March 2020. The period of isolation fell from three weeks to one week in June, and to five days last month.

The end of that rule in January will also see Covid-19 downgraded to a Class B infectious disease, allowing authorities to adopt looser controls.

Chinese immigration authorities said Tuesday they will resume issuing passports for tourism purposes from January 8, after years of strict exit controls.

- Tracking cases -

The winter surge comes ahead of major public holidays next month in which hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel to their hometowns to reunite with relatives.

Chinese authorities have said the scale of the outbreak is now "impossible" to track and narrowed the criteria for defining Covid deaths.

China's Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported 5,231 new Covid cases and three deaths nationwide Wednesday -- likely a drastic undercount since people are no longer required to declare infections to authorities.

Authorities are using data from online surveys, hospital visits, demand for fever medicines and emergency calls to "make up for shortcomings in (officially) reported figures", disease control official Yin Wenwu said at a press briefing Tuesday.

With the country facing shortages of basic medicines, Beijing city authorities plan to distribute the oral Covid drug Paxlovid at local hospitals and community clinics. It remains extremely difficult to obtain for ordinary people.

The US-developed treatment was briefly available on e-commerce platform JD.com and delivery platform Meituan in the past few days before both ran out of stock.

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_Covid_pivot_sparks_jitters_worldwide_999.html.

Beijing, Major Chinese Cities Battle First Wave of COVID Surge

Sunday, 18 December, 2022

Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases that has hit urban centers from north to south.

China is currently in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country's chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou. Cases could multiply across the country if people follow typical travel patterns of returning to their home areas in a mass transit movement for the Lunar New Year holiday next month, Reuters reported.

China is also yet to officially report any COVID deaths since Dec. 7, when the country abruptly ended most restrictions key to a zero-COVID tolerance policy following unprecedented public protests against the protocol. The strategy had been championed by President Xi Jinping.

As part of the easing of the zero-COVID curbs, mass testing for the virus has ended, casting doubt on whether officially reported case numbers can capture the full scale of the outbreak. China reported some 2,097 new symptomatic COVID infections on Dec. 17.

In Beijing, the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has already hit services from catering to parcel deliveries. Funeral homes and crematoriums across the city of 22 million are also struggling to keep up with demand.

Social media posts also showed empty subways in the city of Xian in China's northwest, while internet users complained of delays to deliveries.

In Chengdu, streets were deserted but food delivery times were improving, said a resident surnamed Zhang, after services began to adapt to the recent surge in cases.

Getting hold of antigen test kits was still difficult however, she said. Her recent order had been redirected to hospitals, she said, citing the provider.

In Shanghai, authorities said schools should move most classes online from Monday, and in nearby Hangzhou most school grades were encouraged to finish the winter semester early.

In Guangzhou, those already doing online class as well as pre-schoolers should not prepare for a return to school, said the education bureau.

Speaking at a conference in Beijing on Saturday, chief epidemiologist Wu of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the current outbreak would peak this winter and run in three waves for about three months, according to a state media report of his speech.

The first wave would run from mid-December through mid-January, largely in cities, before a second wave would start from late January to mid-February next year, triggered by the movement of people ahead of the week-long New Year holiday.

China will celebrate Lunar New Year starting on Jan. 21. The holiday normally sees hundreds of millions of people travelling home to spend time with family.

A third wave of cases would run from late February to mid-March as people returned to work after the holiday, Wu said.

A US-based research institute said this week that the country could see an explosion of cases and over a million people in China could die of COVID in 2023.

Wu said severe cases in China had declined over the last years, and that vaccination that has already taken place offered a certain degree of protection. He said those in the community that are vulnerable should be protected, while recommending booster vaccines for the general public.

Almost 87% of over 60s have been fully vaccinated, but only 66.4% of people over the age of 80 have completed a full course of vaccination, said official news agency Xinhua.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4050251/beijing-major-chinese-cities-battle-first-wave-covid-surge.

Chinese cities relax testing rules as zero-Covid policy eases

Beijing (AFP)

Dec 5, 2022

Businesses reopened and testing requirements were relaxed in Beijing and other Chinese cities on Monday as the country tentatively eases out of a strict zero-Covid policy that sparked nationwide protests.

Local authorities across China have begun a slow rollback of the restrictions that have governed daily life for years, encouraged by the central government's orders for a new approach to fighting the coronavirus.

In the capital Beijing, where many businesses have fully reopened, commuters from Monday were no longer required to show a negative virus test taken within 48 hours to use public transport.

Financial hub Shanghai -- which underwent a brutal two-month lockdown this year -- extended this measure to most public places except medical institutions, schools, restaurants and bars, nursing homes and indoor entertainment venues, starting from Tuesday.

The city had already exempted parks and tourist attractions from the testing requirement a day earlier and what the latest rule change encompassed was unclear.

Neighboring Hangzhou ended regular mass testing for its 10 million people, except those living in or visiting nursing homes, schools and kindergartens.

The testing requirement for public transport had been scrapped on Sunday in the central city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, as well as in Shandong province.

And Zhengzhou -- home to the world's largest iPhone factory -- on Sunday said people would be allowed to enter public places, take public transport and enter their residential compounds without a 48-hour negative test result too.

But as officials have dismantled testing facilities, long queues have appeared around those that remain, forcing residents to wait in cold temperatures to get tests that remain obligatory across much of China.

"Students can't go to school without a 24-hour negative test," wrote a user on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

"What's the point in closing testing booths before dropping the need to show test results completely?" another asked.

In the northwestern city of Urumqi, where a fire that killed 10 people became the catalyst for the recent anti-lockdown protests, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and ski resorts reopened on Monday.

The city of more than four million in the far-western Xinjiang region endured one of China's longest lockdowns, with some areas shut from August until November.

- Student protests -

The demonstrations last week were the largest in decades as public anger at prolonged virus restrictions boiled over, with many university campuses involved.

China's vast security apparatus has moved swiftly to smother the rallies, deploying a heavy police presence while boosting online censorship and surveillance of the population.

But sporadic localized clashes have continued to flare up.

Hundreds of students at Wuhan University in central China staged a protest Sunday evening, according to footage on social media and an attendee.

At least 300 protested in front of the university's main administrative building, but there was no violence, only students chanting slogans together, an anonymous witness told AFP.

Students were unhappy with the university's examination arrangements and school holiday dates, he said.

The university announced Sunday that it would gradually resume in-person teaching and "optimize campus epidemic control measures" from Monday, but students and staff could not leave campus without approval.

- Dialing it down -

Chinese state media, which previously focused on highlighting the dangers of Covid-19, has shifted tone as measures have been relaxed.

Authoritative business news outlet Yicai on Sunday quoted an unnamed health expert arguing that officials should dial down strict virus rules.

"Most infected people are asymptomatic... and the fatality rate is very low," the expert said.

China's central National Health Commission (NHC) categorizes infectious diseases based on how fatal and infectious they are.

Since January 2020, it has managed Covid under Category A protocols, giving local governments the power to enforce snap lockdowns and put patients and their close contacts into quarantine.

That approach was now "obviously not in line with science" given the changing circumstances, the expert told Yicai, calling for a "downgrade".

Chinese authorities on Monday reported 29,724 new domestic Covid cases.

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Chinese_cities_relax_testing_rules_as_zero-Covid_policy_eases_999.html.

After doom and gloom, China's propaganda shifts gears on Covid

By Jing Xuan Teng

Beijing (AFP)

Dec 5, 2022

Once dominated by doom and gloom coverage of the dangers of the virus and scenes of pandemic chaos abroad, China's tightly controlled media has dramatically shifted tone as the country tentatively moves away from zero-Covid.

Long anchored to a hardline strategy of mass lockdowns, forced quarantine in centralized facilities and mass testing for millions, Beijing is dialing down curbs in the wake of nationwide protests calling for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedoms.

That policy shift has been accompanied by rapid changes in pandemic messaging in both state media and official statements -- which now downplay the risk from the virus and blame local officials for over-zealous implementation of Covid lockdowns.

The prevalent Omicron strain is "not at all like last year's Delta variant", Guangzhou-based medicine professor Chong Yutian said in an article published by the Communist Party-run China Youth Daily.

"After infection with the Omicron variant, the vast majority will have no or light symptoms, and very few will go on to have severe symptoms, this is already widely known," he assured readers.

"Don't be overly terrified, but also take some precautions" against the virus, a story in the Beijing Youth Daily quoted recovered Covid patients telling readers.

And an analysis Friday by state-run newspaper People's Daily quoted health experts supporting local government moves to allow patients to quarantine at home, which would be a marked departure from current rules.

"This is a kind of official propaganda preparing the people for more relaxation and giving the government some possibility to step down (from zero-Covid)," Hong Kong-based Chinese politics expert Willy Lam told AFP.

- 'There will be punishment' -

Experts say Beijing is laying the groundwork for a loosening of Covid rules -- as well as putting in place convenient scapegoats to blame for the restrictions going too far.

The country's top virus response body has already pointed to over-zealous local officials who had gone overboard with their virus measures, urging in a Q&A with the People's Daily on Saturday that these people be "strictly held accountable".

"There will be punishment of a lot of local officials," Lam told AFP.

In one case announced by authorities on Saturday, a sub-district security official in Hunan province was expelled from the Communist Party and removed from his post for assaulting a local resident during a lockdown-related dispute.

Covid-testing companies are also emerging as a scapegoat, with state media in recent days publishing exposes of alleged violations by testing organizations.

"Nucleic acid companies will be the first to be sacrificed by the government," Chinese political blogger Jing Zhao wrote on Twitter, under his pen name Michael Anti.

"Catching the bosses of these companies can solve two problems: the people wanting to find scapegoats, and (the fact that) abandoning nucleic acid tests and switching to less sensitive antigen tests is more in line with Omicron's rules and can reduce some pressure on pandemic control," he said.

- 'Carrots and sticks' -

And the state propaganda apparatus has already begun to portray pivots away from the zero-Covid policy as evidence of the Chinese government's care for its people.

Local governments across the country said earlier this week that they would not require all people to take part in mass testing campaigns, allowing groups including the elderly and those who never leave their homes to skip testing -- a minor step back from existing policy, but one repeatedly highlighted in state media headlines.

Xinhua news agency described the changes as proof "the government responds to what the people call for".

The Chinese Communist Party "recognizes that the zero-Covid policy has put on the line a fundamental pillar of its legitimacy: its promise to provide a basic living standard for citizens", Diana Fu, associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto, told AFP.

She said the softening tone on Covid was part of the party's traditional strategy of responding to protests "through a combination of carrots and sticks".

"While the security apparatus has swung into motion in repressing protestors, local governments are also giving concessions in terms of easing Covid restrictions to let the pressure valve release."

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/After_doom_and_gloom_Chinas_propaganda_shifts_gears_on_Covid_999.html.

Vaccine Refusal, Floods Impact Polio Drive in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR, Nov 29 2022 (IPS) - Vaccine refusal is impacting the eradication of polio in Pakistan.

Pakistan has vaccinated about 35 million children during its door-to-door campaign, but about 500,000 remained unvaccinated due to refusal by their parents, Jawad Khan Polio officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recorded in 2022 so far.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one of Pakistan’s four provinces, has reported all 20 polio cases. North Waziristan has detected 17 infections, Lakki Marwat 2 and South Waziristan 1.

Khan says that hesitancy against vaccination is not a new trend, as Pakistan has been facing this problem since the start of the polio-eradication campaign in the 90s.

Of the 17 cases reported in militancy-riddled North Waziristan, 12 were not vaccinated, while five were partially immunized.

Muhammad Shah, whose son was diagnosed with the polio virus in August, told IPS that he had been opposing vaccination because this wasn’t allowed in Islam.

“Our religion Islam says that no medication is permissible before the occurrence of any ailment; therefore, our people defy vaccination to fulfill their religious obligations,” he said. Shah, a religious preacher, says his son will soon recover from the paralysis.

He says he was unrepentant in refusing vaccination of his child and would continue to thwart efforts by vaccinators to inoculate the toddler.

North Waziristan district, located near Afghanistan’s border, has many militants who staunchly oppose vaccination.

“It was the hub of the polio virus till 2014 when militants ruled the area illegitimately as there was a complete ban on all sorts of immunization. The Taliban militants were evicted through a military operation in 2014, and parents started vaccinating their kids,” Sajjad Ahmed, a senior health worker, said.

According to him, polio vaccinations have decreased with the emergence of militancy in the area.

“In the last three months, three persons, including two policemen and one health worker, have been killed by unknown assailants during a polio drive in North Waziristan,” he said.

People are afraid to take part in the campaign due to fear of reprisals by Taliban militants, he said.

Dr Rafiq Khan, associated with polio immunization in the region, told IPS that parents refuse vaccination, arguing that it was a US and Western plot to render recipients impotent and cut the population of Muslims – a baseless argument.

“Alleged Taliban have killed about 70 vaccinators and policemen since 2012. Government deploys 25,000 policemen in each three-day campaign to ensure the safety of workers,” he said.

Khan said that militants are pressuring the people against vaccination, due to which parents weren’t willing to administer jabs to their kids below five years.

“We are also facing fake finger marking of kids. As a standard procedure, our vaccinators mark the thumb of the vaccine recipients with indelible ink so that we know how many children have been immunized,” he said.

However, the parents ask the vaccinators to mark their kids’ fingers without vaccination, he said. In this way, parents deceive the government.

“Now, we have started convincing the parents through community elders and religious scholars to create demand for vaccination,” he said.

The government has enlisted the services of religious scholars to do away with refusals against poliomyelitis.

Maulana Amir Haq, a pro-vaccination cleric, told IPS that they had been holding awareness sessions with people telling them vaccination is allowed in Islam.

“It is the responsibility of the parents to safeguard their kids against diseases and vaccination aimed to prevent the crippling ailments. There, parents should fulfill their religious duty and inoculate their sons and daughters,” he said.

He said that laboratory reports confirm vaccines given to Pakistan’s children are safe and don’t contain any ingredient to sterilize the recipients. The situation is changing because we now reach hardcore refusal cases and vaccinate them.

Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel said that it is crucial to understand that the only protection from polio is vaccination, and parents should protect their children against disability through free immunization.

“We want to wipe out the virus and safeguard not only our own kids but all around the world,” he told IPS.

Polio will keep haunting us until we interrupt transmission, Federal Health Secretary Dr. Muhammad Fakhre Alam said.

On August 31, a 16-year-old boy was diagnosed positive for polio in Waziristan, which shows how robust Pakistan’s virus detection network is because it highlights that we can identify polio cases in children outside the usually expected age, he said.

National Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator for polio, Dr Shahzad Baig, expressed concerns about the spread of wild poliovirus as millions of people in the country are displaced by recent floods.

“The scale of the current calamity is absolutely devastating. As part of the polio program, our network of health workers is here to support in every way we can, but I am deeply concerned about the virus gaining a foothold as millions of people leave their homes and look for refuge elsewhere,” he said.

The province of Balochistan and parts of southern Punjab, and 23 districts of Sindh were unable to hold a vaccination drive as floods swept away homes and villages around the country. Despite the extreme climatic conditions, polio teams reached children in all accessible areas, he said.

Neighboring Afghanistan is facing the same problems; however, it has detected only two cases this year.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).

Link: https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/11/vaccine-refusal-floods-impact-polio-drive-pakistan/.

'Longevity' diet high in vegetables, with fasting, can add to lifespan, researchers say

April 28, 2022

By Brian P. Dunleavy

April 28 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have outlined what they call the "longevity diet," based on a century of data, that emphasizes certain foods and periodic fasting, they said, in an article published Thursday.

The review of data from hundreds of studies -- involving both people and animals -- showed diets high in legumes, or green vegetables, as well as whole grains, nuts and olive oil can add years to a person's life expectancy, the researchers said in an article published Thursday by the journal Cell.

Those who include other vegetables and some fish and dark chocolate, while avoiding red or processed meat and limiting white meat, such as chicken or pork, and sugar and refined grains can also boost longevity, they said.

Restricting food consumption to 12 hours per day and having several short fasting periods every year also helps, according to the researchers.

"We explored the link between nutrients, fasting, genes, and longevity in short-lived species, and connected these links to clinical and epidemiological studies in primates and humans, including centenarians," study co-author Valter Longo said in a press release.

"By adopting a multi-system and multi-pillar approach based on over a century of research, we can begin to define a longevity diet that represents a solid foundation for nutritional recommendation and for future research," said Longo, a professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Changing from a typical Western diet to one that includes more legumes, whole grains and nuts, and less red and processed meat as a young adult can add more than a decade to their life expectancy, an analysis published Tuesday by PLOS Medicine found.

Healthy diet habits have also been associated with a reduced risk for life-shortening health problems such as dementia and Type 2 diabetes, recent studies suggest.

For this study, Longo and co-author Rozalyn Anderson from the University of Wisconsin reviewed hundreds of studies on nutrition, diseases and longevity in laboratory animals and humans, citing well over 100 of them, and combined them with their own studies on nutrients and aging.

The analysis included popular diets, including the restriction of total calories, the high-fat and low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet, vegetarian and vegan diets and the Mediterranean diet.

The researchers also reviewed different forms of fasting, or avoiding food entirely for a certain period of time, such as a short-term diet that mimics the body's fasting response, intermittent fasting and periodic fasting, they said.

The characteristics of the optimal diet appear to be moderate to high carbohydrate intake from non-refined sources, low but sufficient protein from largely plant-based sources and enough plant-based fats to provide about 30% of energy needs, the data showed.

Daily meals would all occur within a window of 11 to 12 hours, allowing for a daily period of fasting, the researchers said.

In addition, a five-day cycle of a fasting or fasting-mimicking diet every three to four months may also help reduce insulin resistance, blood pressure and other health metrics associated with increased disease risks.

The longevity diet should be adapted to individuals based on sex, age, health status and genetics, according to the researchers.

For instance, people over age 65 may need to increase protein in order to counter frailty and loss of lean body mass associated with aging.

Those looking to optimize their diets for longevity should work with a healthcare provider who specializes in nutrition to personalize a plan focusing on smaller changes that can be adopted for life, rather than big changes that will cause potentially harmful losses of body fat and lean mass, they said.

The researchers plan to conduct a 500-person study in southern Italy, as the longevity diet bears both similarities and differences to the Mediterranean-style diets often seen in aging communities, Longo said.

"The longevity diet is not a dietary restriction intended to only cause weight loss but a lifestyle focused on slowing aging," Longo added.

"[It] can complement standard healthcare and, taken as a preventative measure, will aid in avoiding morbidity and sustaining health into advanced age," he said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).

Link: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/04/28/diet-elements-long-life-study/4671651153781/.

Citing Pandemic, China Withdraws as Host of 2023 Asian Cup

Saturday, 14 May, 2022

China relinquished its right to host soccer's 2023 Asian Cup on Saturday in the latest cancellation of the country's sports hosting duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asian Football Confederation praised Chinese soccer officials for making “this very difficult but necessary decision in the collective interests of the AFC Asian Cup.”

The 24-nation tournament was due to be played in 10 cities in mostly newly built stadiums in June and July of next year.

The four-yearly Asian Cup is traditionally played in January and February. Qatar (2011) and Australia (2015) hosted the tournament when it was played in January, while the 2019 event in the United Arab Emirates was held from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1.

China was due to host the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in September but that was postponed along with nearly all international sports events in the country. China did host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing though under a strict lockdown for athletes and officials with few fans able to attend.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3644821/citing-pandemic-china-withdraws-host-2023-asian-cup.

NKorea Reports More COVID Deaths, Kim Says Pandemic 'Great Turmoil'

Saturday, 14 May, 2022

North Korea announced 21 new "fever" deaths Saturday and said more than half a million people had been sickened nationwide, as Kim Jong Un said that the spread of COVID-19 had thrust his country into "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak.

Despite activating its "maximum emergency quarantine system" to slow the spread of disease through its unvaccinated population, North Korea is reporting tens of thousands of new cases daily.

On Friday alone, "over 174,440 persons had fever, at least 81 430 were fully recovered and 21 died in the country," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

North Korea confirmed Thursday that the highly-contagious Omicron variant had been detected in the capital Pyongyang, with leader Kim Jong Un ordering nationwide lockdowns.

It was the North's first official confirmation of Covid cases and marked the failure of a two year long coronavirus blockade maintained at great economic cost since the start of the pandemic.

"The number of fevered persons totalized from late April to May 13 is over 524,440," KCNA said, with 27 deaths total.

The report did not specify whether the new cases and deaths had all tested positive for Covid-19, but experts say the country will struggle to test and diagnose on this scale.

"It's not a stretch to consider these 'fever' cases to all be Covid-19, given the North's lack of testing capacity," said Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute.

"The actual number of Covid cases could be higher than the fever figures due to many asymptomatic cases," he said, adding that the pace of infection was growing "very fast".

North Korea held its second Politburo meeting this week, overseen by Kim, KCNA reported.

"The spread of malignant disease comes to be a great upheaval in our country since the founding of the DPRK along with the worldwide spread of Covid-19," he said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The meeting of the country's top officials discussed "supplying reserve medicines" and other ways of "minimizing the losses in human lives", KCNA said.

North Korea has a crumbling health system -- one of the worst in the world -- and lacks essential medicines and equipment, experts say.

With no Covid vaccines, antiviral treatment drugs or mass testing capacity, North Korea will struggle to handle a massive outbreak, experts warn.

Kim said Saturday that North Korea would follow the Chinese model of disease management.

"It is good to actively learn from the advanced and rich anti-epidemic successes and experience already gained by the Chinese party and people in the struggle against malicious epidemic," he said, KCNA reported.

China, the world's only major economy to still maintain a zero-Covid policy, is currently battling multiple Omicron outbreaks -- with some major cities, including financial hub Shanghai, under stay-at-home orders.

North Korea has previously turned down offers of Covid vaccines from China, as well as from the World Health Organization's Covax scheme.

Beijing said Thursday it would be willing to help Pyongyang, and South Korea also announced Friday it could send vaccines to the North -- if Kim's regime would accept them.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3644571/nkorea-reports-more-covid-deaths-kim-says-pandemic-great-turmoil.

New Zealand's PM Tests Positive for COVID

Saturday, 14 May, 2022

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement on Saturday.

She will not be in parliament for the government's emissions reduction plan on Monday and the budget on Thursday, but "travel arrangements for her trade mission to the United States are unaffected at this stage," the statement said.

Details of the trip are still to be confirmed, although she is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Harvard University on May 26.

Ardern had been symptomatic since Friday evening, returning a weak positive at night and a clear positive on Saturday morning on a rapid antigen test, it said.

She has been in isolation since Sunday, when her partner Clarke Gayford tested positive, it said.

Due to the positive test, Ardern will be required to isolate until the morning of May 21, undertaking what duties she can remotely.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson will address media in her place on Monday.

New Zealand enforced one of the world's most restrictive approaches to managing the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and its death toll of 892 remains among the lowest of developed nations.

However, it has experienced an Omicron surge since restrictions were loosened in March, with Ardern's positive case among more than 50,000 recorded over the last week.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3644801/new-zealand%E2%80%99s-pm-tests-positive-covid.

Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics

March 20, 2021

TOKYO (AP) — Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months, the IOC and local organizers said Saturday. The decision was announced after an online meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers.

The move was expected and rumored for several months. Officials said the risk was too great to admit ticket holders from overseas during a pandemic, an idea strongly opposed by the Japanese public. Japan has attributed about 8,800 deaths to COVID-19 and has controlled the virus better than most countries.

“In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo organizing committee said in a statement.

About 1 million tickets are reported to have been sold to fans from outside Japan. Organizers have promised refunds, but this will be determined by so-called Authorized Ticket Resellers that handle sales outside Japan. These dealers charge fees of up to 20% above the ticket price. It is not clear if the fees will be refunded.

“We could wait until the very last moment to decide, except for the spectators," said Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the organizing committee. "They have to secure accommodations and flights. So we have to decide early otherwise we will cause a lot of inconvenience from them. I know this is a very tough issue.”

IOC President Thomas Bach called it a “difficult decision.” “We have to take decisions that may need sacrifice from everybody,” he said. The financial burden of lost ticket sales falls on Japan. The local organizing committee budget called from $800 million income from ticket sales, the third largest income source in the privately finance budget. Any shortfall in the budget will have to be made up by Japanese government entities.

Overall, Japan is officially spending $15.4 billion to organize the Olympics. Several government audits say the actual cost may be twice that much. All but $6.7 billion is public money. About 4.45 million tickets were sold to Japan residents. Organizers are expected next month to announce the capacity at venues, which will be filled by local residents.

The ban on fans from abroad comes just days before the Olympic torch relay starts Thursday from Fukushima prefecture in northeastern Japan. It will last for 121 days, crisscross Japan with 10,000 runners, and is to end on July 23 at the opening ceremony at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

The relay will be a test for the Olympics and Paralympics, which will involve 15,400 athletes entering Japan. They will be tested before leaving home, tested upon arrival in Japan, and tested frequently while they reside in a secure “bubble” in the Athletes Village alongside Tokyo Bay.

Athletes will not be required to be vaccinated to enter Japan, but many will be. In the midst of Saturday's meeting, Bach and others were given a reminder about earthquake-prone northeastern Japan — and Japan in general.

A strong earthquake shook Tokyo and triggered a tsunami warning as Bach and others made introductory remarks before the virtual meeting. The strength was put a 7.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey and the location was in northeastern Japan, an area hit by a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

“I think the screen is shaking. Have you noticed the screen is shaking,” Tamayo Marukawa, Japan's Olympic minister, said as she made her presentation from Tokyo talking remotely to Bach visible on a screen in Switzerland. "We’re actually in the midst of an earthquake right now.”

Officials there said there were no immediate reports of damage.

Jordan's Prime Minister Contracts COVID-19

Monday, 21 February, 2022

Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh has tested positive for COVID-19 during an official visit to Egypt, the state news agency Petra quoted the information minister as saying on Monday.

COVID tests after a meeting between Khasawneh and his Egyptian counterpart proved positive and all other official meetings were cancelled, including a planned meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the minister added.

The prime minister will isolate at home after returning to Jordan, the report said.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3487891/jordans-prime-minister-contracts-covid-19.

Navalny's doctors prevented from seeing him at prison clinic

April 20, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Several doctors were prevented Tuesday from seeing Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison hospital after his three-week hunger strike and prosecutors detailed a sweeping, new case against his organization.

Navalny was transferred Sunday from a penal colony east of Moscow to a hospital unit at a prison in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital after his lawyers and associates said his condition has dramatically worsened.

In a post on his Instagram account, Navalny described a grueling search that lasted for several hours before his transfer and wryly described his condition. “You would laugh if you see me now — a skeleton staggers around his cell,” the post read. "They can use me to scare children who refuse to eat: ‘If you don’t eat porridge, you will be like that man with big ears, shaven head and hollow eyes.’”

Navalny added a serious note that he was glad to hear from his lawyer about broad sympathy and support for him in Russia and abroad. His lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, tweeted that Navalny so far has received only one glucose injection since Sunday at the hospital unit, which is intended to treat tuberculosis patients.

Six other attempts to give him a shot failed because paramedics apparently weren't qualified enough to find his vein, he said. “His arms are all blue with the shots,” Kobzev said. Reports about Navalny’s rapidly deteriorating health have drawn international outrage.

His personal physician, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva, led three other medical experts to try to visit Navalny at the prison clinic and the IK-3 prison in the city of Vladimir. They were denied entry after waiting for hours outside the gates.

“It's a show of disrespect and mockery of the doctors,” Vasilyeva tweeted, adding that Navalny's “life and health are clearly in danger.” Navalny, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin's most adamant opponent, has been on a hunger strike since March 31 to protest the refusal by prison officials to let his doctors visit him and provide adequate treatment for back pains and numbness in his legs.

Russia's penitentiary service insists that Navalny was getting all the medical help he needs. Navalny was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he had spent five months convalescing from the Novichok nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin — an accusation Russian officials have rejected. His arrest triggered the biggest protests seen across Russia in recent years. In February, a Moscow court ordered him to serve 2 1/2 years in prison on a 2014 embezzlement conviction that the European Court of Human Rights deemed to be “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.”

The prison service said in a statement Monday that Navalny’s condition was deemed “satisfactory,” but another of his physicians, Dr. Yaroslav Ashikhmin, said over the weekend that test results provided by his family show Navalny has sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, as well as heightened creatinine levels that indicate impaired kidney function.

Despite his worsening condition, Navalny still showed his sardonic humor. “I laughed when I saw medical luminaries’ comments that with such a level of potassium that I had in my tests, I should have been either in emergency care or in a coffin,” he went on. “No, they wouldn’t get me that easily. I wouldn’t be scared with potassium after Novichok.”

In response to Navalny's deteriorating health, his associates have called for a nationwide rally Wednesday, the same day that Putin is scheduled to deliver his annual state of the nation address. Russian authorities, meanwhile, have escalated their crackdown on Navalny’s allies and supporters, with the Moscow prosecutor’s office asking a court to brand Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his network of regional offices as extremist organizations.

Human rights activists say such a move would paralyze their activities and expose their members and donors to prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Putin foe Navalny sent to prison hospital amid hunger strike

April 19, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is in the third week of a hunger strike while behind bars, was moved to a hospital in another prison after his doctor said he could be near death, his lawyer said Monday.

Navalny was transferred Sunday from a penal colony east of Moscow to a prison hospital in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital, lawyer Alexei Liptser said after visiting the politician on Monday afternoon.

“Yesterday he was really unwell. ... Given the test results and the overall state of his health, it was decided to transfer him here. In the evening, he became significantly worse,” Liptser said. While Navalny was able to meet with him Monday, he continued his hunger strike and “in general his look indicates he is really unwell," the lawyer added.

Russia's state penitentiary service FSIN did not report the decision to transfer Navalny until Monday morning and a statement it released said he had agreed to take vitamin therapy. Liptser said he didn't have enough time with his client to confirm that: “They were searching him ahead of our meeting longer than our meeting had lasted. He was outraged by this. Therefore, we couldn’t discuss anything, apart from what has happened to him."

The prison service statement said Navalny’s condition was deemed “satisfactory.” But the opposition leader's physician, Dr. Yaroslav Ashikhmin, said Saturday that test results provided by the family show Navalny has sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, as well as heightened creatinine levels that indicate impaired kidney function.

“Our patient could die at any moment,” he said in a Facebook post. Reports about his rapidly declining health drew international outrage and calls urging Russian authorities to give adequate medical help to Navalny, who is President Vladimir Putin's fiercest opponent. European Union foreign ministers were assessing the bloc’s strategy toward Russia in wake of the news.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called for his release and that he “must be treated humanely,” adding that U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed Navalny with Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council.

“What happens to Mr. Navalny in the custody of the Russian government is the responsibility of the Russian government, and that they will be held accountable by the international community," she added.

Navalny was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin — an accusation Russian officials have rejected. His arrest triggered massive protests across Russia, the biggest show of defiance in recent years. Soon after, a court ordered him to serve 2 1/2 years in prison on a 2014 embezzlement conviction that the European Court of Human Rights deemed to be “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.”

Navalny began a hunger strike to protest the refusal to let his doctors visit when he began experiencing severe back pain and a loss of feeling in his legs. The penitentiary service has said Navalny was getting all the medical help he needs.

In response to the alarming news about Navalny’s health, his team has called for a nationwide rally Wednesday, the same day that Putin is scheduled to deliver his annual state of the nation address. According to a website dedicated to the protests, demonstrations were being planned in 77 Russian cities as of Monday afternoon.

The Interior Ministry in a statement urged Russians not to take part in unauthorized rallies, citing coronavirus risks and alleging that some “destructive-minded” participants might provoke unrest. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said police will treat any unauthorized protests as illegal. In the past, security forces have violently broken up demonstrations.

Already, Russian authorities have taken their crackdown on Navalny’s allies and supporters to a new level, with the Moscow prosecutor’s office last week petitioning a court to label as extremist groups Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his network of regional offices.

Human rights advocates say if that happens, both the foundation and the regional offices would be outlawed, paralyzing their operations, and those who work for either could be prosecuted. Donating money to the groups — something thousands of Russians have done regularly in recent years — would also become a criminal offense punishable by prison.

For now, several Navalny allies have dismissed as insufficient the move to move him to the prison hospital. Ivan Zhdanov, head of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, tweeted that the transfer takes Navalny merely to another “tormenting colony, just with a big in-patient facility, where gravely ill are being transferred.”

Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva, head of the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors union and also his personal physician, noted that it was “not a hospital where a diagnosis can be determined and treatment (can be) prescribed for his ailments,” but rather “a prison where tuberculosis is being treated.”

She again called for the prison to let her and other physicians see him, but Liptser said that prison officials told Navalny he won't be allowed a visit from “civilian” doctors. Since last month, the politician has been serving his sentence in a penal colony notorious for its harsh conditions.

Navalny has complained about being sleep-deprived because guards conduct hourly checks on him at night, and he said he developed severe back pain and numbness in his legs within weeks of his transfer to the colony. His demands for a visit from an independent “civilian” physician were rebuffed by prison officials, and he began the hunger strike March 31.

In a wry message Friday from prison, Navalny said authorities threatened to force-feed him “imminently,” using a “straitjacket and other pleasures.” The French newspaper Le Monde on Friday published a letter to Putin signed by dozens of cultural figures — including writers Salman Rushdie and Mario Vargas Llosa, singer Patti Smith and actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Kristin Scott Thomas — urging him to give Navalny access to proper medical care.

On Monday, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, reiterated her calls for Navalny's release and to “give him full access to medical care in light of his serious health deterioration."

Russians go back to work but virus cases, deaths stay high

November 08, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Russians went back to work on Monday after a mandated, nine-day break with authorities expressing uncertainly whether the measure helped tame a record-breaking surge of coronavirus infections and deaths.

Daily tallies of new cases and COVID-19 deaths remained high throughout the non-working period. Officials in the Kremlin said that it was too early to tell whether the measure had the desired effect. “Too early to draw a conclusion. It will be clear in about a week,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Russia's coronavirus task force reported 39,400 new infections and 1,190 deaths on Monday — slightly lower than the record 41,335 new cases registered on Saturday and the record 1,195 deaths reported on Thursday. Russia has the worst death toll in Europe by far, and is one of the top five hardest-hit nations in the world.

The task force has been reporting around 40,000 new cases and over 1,100 new deaths each day since late October. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days if necessary, but only five Russian regions have done so.

Others have restricted attendance to public places, such as restaurants, theaters and cinemas, to those who either have been fully vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 within the last six months or tested negative in the previous 72 hours.

Russia’s autumn surge in infections and deaths comes amid low vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Less than 40% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though Russia approved a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine months before most countries.

According to Gogov.ru, a independent website that tracks vaccinations in Russia, the immunization rate went up in mid-October and almost reached peak levels recorded between June and August when dozens of Russian regions mandated vaccinations for certain groups of people. The rate had dropped again as of Thursday.

In all, Russia’s coronavirus task force has reported more than 8.8 million confirmed cases and over 248,000 deaths. However, reports by Russia’s statistical service Rosstat that tally coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively reveal much higher mortality numbers: 462,000 people with COVID-19 died between April 2020 and September this year.

Russian officials have said the task force only includes deaths for which COVID-19 was the main cause and uses data from medical facilities. Rosstat uses wider criteria for counting virus-related deaths and takes its numbers from civil registry offices where registering a death is finalized.

UK authorizes Merck antiviral pill, 1st shown to treat COVID

November 04, 2021

LONDON (AP) — Britain granted conditional authorization on Thursday to the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19 so far. It also is the first country to OK the treatment from drugmaker Merck, although it wasn't immediately clear how quickly the pill would be available.

The pill was licensed for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 would take four pills of the drug, known molnupiravir, twice a day for five days.

An antiviral pill that reduces symptoms and speeds recovery could prove groundbreaking, easing caseloads on hospitals and helping to curb outbreaks in poorer countries with fragile health systems. It would also bolster the two-pronged approach to the pandemic: treatment, by way of medication, and prevention, primarily through vaccinations.

Molnupiravir is also pending review with regulators in the U.S., the European Union and elsewhere. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last month it would convene a panel of independent experts to scrutinize the pill's safety and effectiveness in late November.

Initial supplies will be limited. Merck has said it can produce 10 million treatment courses through the end of the year, but much of that supply has already been purchased by governments worldwide. In October, U.K. officials announced they secured 480,000 courses of molnupiravir and expected thousands of vulnerable Britons to have access to the treatment this winter via a national study.

“Today is a historic day for our country, as the U.K. is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for COVID-19," British health secretary Sajid Javid said. “We are working at pace across the government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy molnupiravir to patients through a national study as soon as possible," he said in a statement, referring to the U.K.'s National Health Service. Doctors said the treatment would be particularly significant for people who don't respond well to vaccination.

Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutic have requested clearance for the drug with regulators around the world for adults with early cases of COVID-19 who are at risk for severe disease or hospitalization. That's roughly the same group targeted for treatment with infused COVID-19 antibody drugs, the standard of care in many countries for patients who don't yet require hospitalization.

Merck announced preliminary results in September showing its drug cut hospitalizations and deaths by half among patients with early COVID-19 symptoms. The results haven't yet been peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal.

The company also didn't disclose details on molnupiravir’s side effects, except to say that rates of those problems were similar between people who got the drug and those who received dummy pills. The drug targets an enzyme the coronavirus uses to reproduce itself, inserting errors into its genetic code that slow its ability to spread and take over human cells. That genetic activity has led some independent experts to question whether the drug could potentially cause mutations leading to birth defects or tumors.

Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said molnupiravir's ability to interact with DNA and cause mutations had been studied “extensively” and that it wasn't found to pose a risk to humans.

“Studies in rats showed that (molnupiravir) may cause harmful effects to the unborn offspring, although this was at doses which were higher than those that will be given to humans, and these effects were not observed in other animals,” the agency said in an email.

In company trials, both men and women were instructed to either use contraception or abstain from sex. Pregnant women were excluded from the study. Merck has stated that the drug is safe when used as directed.

Molnupiravir was initially studied as a potential flu therapy with funding from the U.S. government. Last year, researchers at Emory University decided to repurpose the drug as a potential COVID-19 treatment. They then licensed the drug to Ridgeback and partner Merck.

Last week, Merck agreed to allow other drugmakers to make its COVID-19 pill, in a move aimed at helping millions of people in poorer countries get access. The Medicines Patent Pool, a U.N.-backed group, said Merck will not receive royalties under the agreement for as long as the World Health Organization deems COVID-19 to be a global emergency.

But the deal was criticized by some activists for excluding many middle-income countries capable of making millions of treatments, including Brazil and China. Still, experts commended Merck for agreeing to widely share its formula and promising to help any companies who need technological help in making their drug — something no coronavirus vaccine producers have agreed to.

“Unlike the grotesquely unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the poorest countries will not have to wait at the back of the queue for molnupiravir,” said Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni, a senior health adviser to the People's Vaccine Alliance. Fewer than 1% of the world's COVID-19 vaccines have gone to poor countries and experts hope easier-to-dispense treatments will help them curb the pandemic.

Merck previously announced licensing deals with several Indian makers of generic drugs to manufacture lower-cost versions of molnupiravir for developing countries. The U.S. has agreed to pay roughly $700 per course of the drug for about 1.7 million treatments. Merck says it plans to use a tiered pricing strategy for developing countries. A review by Harvard University and King's College London estimated the drug costs about $18 to make each 40-pill course of treatment.

While other treatments have been cleared to treat COVID-19, including steroids and monoclonal antibodies, those are administered by injection or infusion and are mostly used in hospitals and other health care facilities.

Matthew Perrone reported from Washington.

COVID-19 deaths hit another daily record in hard-hit Russia

November 02, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit another daily record Tuesday, four days since a nationwide order for many Russians to stay off work took effect. Russia's state coronavirus task force reported 39,008 new confirmed cases and 1,178 COVID-19 deaths. The task force has reported record daily infections or deaths almost every day for the last month.

To reduce the spread of the coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a nationwide non-working period for Oct. 30-Nov. 7. Putin has said that governments in regions where the situation is most dire could add more non-working days, if needed. The Novgorod region became the first one to do so Monday, extending the period by another week.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday brushed off rumors that the non-working period could be prolonged for all of Russia. He stressed that regional governments have been empowered to introduce their own measures to curb the outbreak.

Russia's weekslong surge in infections and deaths comes amid low vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Less than 35% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated so far, even though Russia approved a domestically developed vaccine against the coronavirus months before most countries.

Putin on Monday described the situation with COVID-19 in Russia as “very difficult.” In all, Russia's state coronavirus task force has reported nearly 8.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 240,000 deaths in the pandemic — by far the highest death toll in Europe.

However, reports by Russia’s state statistical service Rosstat that tally coronavirus-linked deaths retroactively reveal much higher mortality numbers. A report released last week indicated that some 462,000 people with COVID-19 died between April 2020 and September of this year.

Russian officials have said the task force only includes deaths for which COVID-19 was the main cause and uses data collected from medical facilities. Rosstat uses wider criteria for counting virus-related deaths and takes its numbers from civil registry offices where the process of registering a death is finalized.

Famed Swiss eatery's closure highlights COVID rule tensions

November 01, 2021

GENEVA (AP) — A move by Swiss police in a resort town to shutter a restaurant because its owners flouted a government requirement to check patrons’ COVID-19 passes has again brought to the forefront tensions with some people who view such measures as infringing on civil rights.

Swiss media reported on Monday that police in Zermatt, a resort town at the foot of the famed Matterhorn peak, swept into the 19th century Walliserkanne restaurant a day earlier and sealed it off after its owners had defied a closure order and kept serving.

The three owners who were taken into custody, had reportedly transformed a stack of cinder blocks that police had used to block off the front entrance into a makeshift bar and let patrons to enter from the back.

The showdown points to renewed tensions in Switzerland and beyond over government measures aimed to fight the coronavirus pandemic that some people claim are treading on civil liberties. The reports said dozens of people over the weekend turned out at the restaurant to protest the arrests.

Police in the southern Wallis region said in a statement that the three restaurateurs refused to close the eatery despite authorities' efforts to engage in dialogue with them and ignored several warnings to respect the health measures.

Switzerland, like some other European countries, has taken a number of steps to fight the pandemic such as the requirement for restaurant managers to request proof of vaccination, recent recovery from the illness or current negative tests before serving patrons.

The rich Alpine country of about 8.5 million people whose ski slopes and winter sports are a key draw for tourists has reported an average of about 1,300 new cases of COVID-19 in recent days, up from around 870 in mid-October, though average daily deaths have been under 10 since early April.

Russian region extends off-work order as COVID-19 cases soar

November 01, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Russia's Novgorod region on Monday ordered most residents to stay off work for one more week starting Nov. 8 as coronavirus infections and deaths remained at all-time highs.

The Novgorod region was the first region to extend the nationwide non-working period between Oct. 30-Nov. 7 that was ordered by President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s state coronavirus task force on Monday reported more than 40,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases for the third straight day and more than 1,100 deaths for the seventh day in a row - the highest levels in each category since the start of the pandemic.

Putin has said that governments in regions where the situation is the most dire could start the non-working days earlier and extend them if needed. In Moscow, the non-working period started on Oct. 28, with city authorities shutting down many non-essential businesses. In the Novgorod region roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) northwest of the Russian capital, non-working days began on Oct. 25.

On Monday, Novgorod's regional coronavirus task force reported 284 new infections — double the daily tally from a month ago when just over 140 new confirmed cases were reported each day. Governor Andrei Nikitin said there is no reason to expect the situation improving any time soon.

Russia’s daily numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths have been surging for weeks amid low vaccine uptake, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Less than 35% of Russia's nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated so far, even though Russia was among the first in the world to approve and roll out a coronavirus vaccine.

The nonworking period is aimed to curb the spread by keeping people out of offices and off crowded public transportation. But in some cities including Moscow, restrictions have been loosely observed, and many people rushed to popular holiday destinations, such as Russia's Black Sea resorts, to take advantage of the break.

Anna Popova, head of Russia's public health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, told a government meeting on Monday that infections continued to grow in 78 of the more than 80 Russian regions. President Putin on Monday described the situation as “very difficult” during a meeting with military officials and arms makers. “More than 40,000 of those infected. It has never happened (before),” the Russian leader said.

Putin's COVID-19 vaccination to be kept out of public eye

March 23, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will be getting his first vaccination against COVID-19 on Tuesday, but out of sight of the cameras, his spokesman said, prompting questions about whether the gesture will boost comparatively low immunization rates in Russia.

Asked whether the Kremlin will release any photos or footage of Putin getting his coronavirus vaccine shot, Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call that they would have to "take (our) word for it.”

“When it comes to getting vaccinated on camera, he has never supported that, he doesn't like that,” Peskov said. Peskov wouldn't reveal whether Putin will go to a vaccination facility or the shot will be brought to him in his office or residence, saying only that “it will done in a way that would the least affect” Putin's working schedule.

Putin announced that he would get vaccinated at a government meeting the day before. The statement came several months after widespread immunization against COVID-19 kicked off in Russia. Kremlin critics have argued that Putin's reluctance to get vaccinated was contributing to the already existing hesitancy about the vaccine.

Only 6.3 million people, or 4.3% of Russia's 146-million population, have received at least one dose of a vaccine. It lags behind a number of other countries in terms of the vaccination rate. Surveys by Russia’s top independent pollster, Levada Center, have shown that the number of Russians reluctant to get vaccinated with the domestically developed Sputnik V shot has grown in recent months — to 62% in February from 58% in December.

Pressed by reporters over whether Putin should get vaccinated on camera in order to boost slow vaccination rates, Peskov argued that Russians “will hear” about the president's vaccination and that Putin is already doing “a lot" for promoting the vaccination campaign.

“The president ... dedicates a rather significant time in his working hours to events, discussions, meetings related to vaccination, production of vaccines and so on. So the president does a lot for propaganda of the vaccines,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman refused to reveal which one of the three vaccines authorized for use in Russia Putin will receive, saying only that all three are “absolutely good, reliable, effective.” Russian authorities have given regulatory approval to three domestically developed shots — Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona and CoviVac. All three received the authorization before completing advanced trials experts say are necessary to ensure their safety and effectiveness in line with established scientific protocol.

However, a recent study in the British medical journal the Lancet showed that Sputnik V is 91% effective and appears to prevent inoculated individuals from becoming severely ill with COVID-19, although it’s still unclear if the vaccine can prevent the spread of the disease. No data on efficacy of the two other vaccines have been released.

Russia scores points with vaccine diplomacy, but snags arise

March 07, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's boast in August that it was the first country to authorize a coronavirus vaccine led to skepticism at the time because of its insufficient testing. Six months later, as demand for the Sputnik V vaccine grows, experts are raising questions again — this time, over whether Moscow can keep up with all the orders from the countries that want it.

Slovakia got 200,000 doses on March 1, even though the European Medicines Agency, the European Union's pharmaceutical regulator, only began reviewing its use on Thursday in an expedited process. The president of the hard-hit Czech Republic said he wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin to get a supply. Millions of doses are expected by countries in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East in a wave of Russian vaccine diplomacy.

“Sputnik V continues to confidently conquer Europe,” anchor Olga Skabeyeva declared on the Russia-1 state TV channel. Dmitry Kiselev, the network's top pro-Kremlin anchor, heaped on the hyperbole last month, blustering: “The Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, is the best in the world.”

State TV channels have covered vaccine exports extensively, citing praise from abroad for Russia and running segments about the difficulties countries are having with Western vaccines. The early criticism of Sputnik V has been blunted by a report in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet that said large-scale testing showed it to be safe, with an efficacy rate of 91% against the virus.

That could help revamp Russia's image to one of a scientific, technological and benevolent power, especially as other countries encounter shortages of COVID-19 vaccines because richer nations are scooping up the Western-made versions or manufacturers struggle with limited production capacity.

“The fact that Russia is among five countries that were able to quickly develop a vaccine … allows Moscow to present itself as a high-tech power of knowledge rather than a petrol pump in decline,” said foreign affairs analyst Vladimir Frolov.

Some experts say boosting the use of vaccines from China and Russia — which have not been as popular as those from the West — could offer a quicker way to increase the global supply. Others note that Russia wants to score geopolitical points.

“Putin is using (the vaccine) to bolster a very tarnished image of Russia’s scientific and technological prowess,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University professor and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “He’s using it for geostrategic purposes in areas where Russia would like to have spheres of influence.”

Whether Russia can deliver is another question. China has supplied millions of doses to other countries, but the output of Sputnik V appears for now to be far lower than the demand. “They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams in terms of this vaccine actually being a viable, marketable product," said Judy Twigg, a political science professor specializing in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University. "They’ve made all of these explicit and implicit promises to people inside and outside Russia about access to this product that now is unexpectedly great. And now they’re stuck trying, scrambling, trying to figure out how to deliver on all those promises.”

Russia also must take care of its own. Authorities have announced plans to vaccinate 60% of adults, or roughly 68 million people, by the end of June. The domestic rollout in Russia has been slow, compared with other nations, with about 4 million people, or less than 3% of the population, vaccinated as of late February. Some of that could also be due to widespread reluctance among Russians to trust vaccines.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which bankrolled and markets the vaccine abroad, has not responded to a request for comment on how many doses are going to other countries. It said earlier that it has received requests for 2.4 billion doses from over 50 nations.

Airfinity, a London-based science analytics company, estimates that Russia agreed to supply about 392 million doses abroad, and there are talks with countries for at least another 356 million. Judging by production and exports so far, “Russia is very far from being able to deliver this,” said Airfinity CEO and founder Rasmus Hansen.

Russia manufactured just over 2 million doses last year amid reports of local producers having problems with buying equipment and making the second component of the two-shot vaccine. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Feb. 20 that over 10 million doses of Sputnik V have been produced.

Sputnik V is a viral vector vaccine, which uses a harmless virus that carries genetic material to stimulate the immune system. Producing it is a complicated process, said Elena Subbotina, a consultant with the pharma consultancy CBPartners’ Central and Eastern Europe Team. Producers can’t guarantee stable output because working with biological ingredients involves a lot of variability in terms of the quality of the finished product.

Some countries that have been offered large batches of Sputnik V have yet to approve it for use. In India, which has been pledged 125 million doses, the vaccine is undergoing studies to determine if it produces a comparable immune response. Brazil’s health ministry said it is negotiating to purchase 10 million doses, but the nation’s regulatory agency has yet to authorize its use. Nepal, which has been offered 25 million doses, also hasn’t given its approval.

Other countries have had delays in receiving Sputnik V shipments. Argentina got nearly 2.5 million doses by March 1, even though at one point the government was expecting 5 million in January and over 14 million more in February. Officials in Hungary, who agreed to buy 2 million doses over three months, said Jan. 22 they were expecting 600,000 doses in the first 30 days, but got only 325,600 by early March. Mexico signed a deal for 24 million doses and was hoping to receive 400,000 in February but got only 200,000.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreements with manufacturers in countries including Brazil, South Korea and India to boost production, but there are few indications that manufacturers abroad have made any large amounts of the vaccine so far.

The Brazilian company Uniao Quimica is in the pilot testing phase, the results of which will be shared with Russia before the company can produce it for sale. Indian drugmaker Hetero Biopharma, with a deal to make 100 million doses, was to begin production at the start of 2021, but it isn’t clear if it has actually started.

South Korean company GL Rapha, which expects to make 150 million doses this year, will be manufacturing finished products by sometime in March, said company official Kim Gi-young. Russia so far hasn't faced any criticism for delaying supplies of Sputnik V to other countries, with foreign officials optimistic about the deals.

Hungary is still awaiting large shipments, but expressed optimism about receiving them. “The Russian side, with minimal delay, will meet the 600,000 doses agreed to in the first phase, and then the additional 1.4 million doses,” Hungary's State Secretary Tamas Menczer said last month. Prime Minister Viktor Orban added Friday: “The Russians are pretty much keeping their promises.”

Promising more than can be delivered appears to be a universal problem with coronavirus vaccines, and it is a real risk for Russia as well, said Theresa Fallon, director of the Brussels-based Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies.

“They have won the gold medal for creating this very effective vaccine," she said. "But the problem is, how are they going to implement it?”

Associated Press writers Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi, India; David Biller in Rio de Janeiro; Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Justin Spike and Bela Szandelszky in Budapest, Hungary; and Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.