COVID-19 Outbreak: Weekly Global Report for Friday, December 4, 2020
AdvaMed recognizes that its members, particularly those with global government affairs responsibilities, are tracking COVID-19 related developments around the world to assess the public health and economic impacts on their businesses. Knowing that companies are consuming information from a variety of sources, AdvaMed's global team would like to provide members with a weekly snapshot of the key statistics, policy developments and advocacy initiatives underway in our priority markets. If you have any suggestions, we welcome your feedback.
Global
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics--global cases reached 65 million. Deaths around the world surpassed 1.5 million. The countries with the most reported cases continue to be the U.S. (14 million), India (9.5 million), and Brazil (6.4 million).
- U.S. cases exceeded 14 million with deaths increasing to 275.000.
- Staff Contact: Ralph Ives (rives@advamed.org).
China
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics–China’s total COVID cases now stand at 93,203. There were two new deaths over the previous week, bringing the death count to 4,744. Almost all new cases have been linked to foreign arrivals.
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that hospitals have been gradually resuming elective/regular surgeries and operations appear to be at 80-90% of pre-COVID levels, with this range varying by particular medical condition of the patient and geographical area.
- China reportedly has five coronavirus vaccine candidates in the third and final stage of clinical trials.
- Government attention has largely turned towards preventing a second wave outbreak, with imported frozen food now considered the major risk vector. The smattering of recent transmissions linked to frozen food indicate the government is right to be cautious, but scientific experts remain divided over contaminated frozen food in fact causing new transmissions. The State Council issued its Work Plan for the Preventive and Comprehensive Disinfection of Imported Cold Chain Food, mandating that the packaging of all imported cold food must be disinfected before distribution.
- The State Council announced that China will launch a public health campaign this winter to step up the control of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The campaign will involve improving public health facilities, orchestrating sanitation efforts, and creating contingency plans for local outbreaks.
- Both Chinese nationals and foreigners traveling to China are now required to present negative nucleic acid and serum IgM antibody tests taken within the 48 hours prior to departure. Passengers transiting through a third country or territory will be required to undergo a second round of the same tests within that country or territory before continuing their journey. All tests must be verified by the local Chinese embassy or consulate, which will then grant passengers a green health code to be presented upon boarding.
- China’s economy expanded 4.9 percent in Q3, falling short of widespread analyst expectations of 5.5-6% growth. Manufacturing output in October reached a 10-year high according to an independent PMI tracker by Caixin, with exports remaining resilient compared to earlier this year. Domestic consumption, while rising in recent months, is subdued relative to the growth in 2019.
- S.-China relations remain strained. The Phase One trade deal remains intact and has emerged as a key area of cooperation. China continues to make record buys of U.S. farm products, most notable soybeans and corn.
- Staff Contact: Kyle Churchman (kchurchman@advamed.org)
India
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 9,531,295 total cases, 422,943 active cases/138,648 deaths as compared to 8,684,039 total cases, 489,294 active cases/128,121 deaths last week. Active Covid-19 cases in India continued to slide for the fifth straight day and daily cases remained below 40,000 for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday even as the total caseload of the country breached the 95-lakh mark.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, November 30, held a virtual meeting with three teams working on developing and manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine, and said they should take extra efforts to inform people in simple language about the vaccine and related matters such as its efficacy.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, November 28 visited the units of three vaccine manufacturers in India to review the progress of vaccine development and manufacturing process — Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune. Modi’s first stop was Ahmedabad where he reviewed the vaccine development and manufacturing process of Zydus Group’s indigenous plasmid DNA vaccine – ZyCov-D.
- The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday, December 1, made it clear that the government had never spoken about vaccinating the entire country. Addressing a press conference, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan also said the "adverse event" in a Serum Institute trial of the Covishield vaccine would not affect vaccine timelines in any way.
- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday, December 1 announced that they have commenced adaptive phase 2/3 clinical trials for Sputnik V vaccine in India after receiving the necessary clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli, India.
- Indian businesses expect a quicker return to pre-COVID levels of profitability than most others and are positive about international trade despite the ongoing protectionism, says a survey. According to HSBC's annual Navigator survey, which covered more than 10,000 companies across 39 global markets in the world, including 350 firms from India, Indian businesses continue to have an appetite for growth and investment.
- Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday, November 28 said they were in the process of applying for an emergency use licence (for AstraZeneca-Oxford’s Covid vaccine in India) in the “next two weeks”.
- Zydus Cadila is expected to introduce its Covid-19 vaccine by March next year "if all goes well", a person with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. The Ahmedabad-based drug maker will submit the results of its phase-2 trials next week, which "will ascertain the safety, dose and efficacy of the potential vaccine", said the person who requested not to be identified.
- Staff Contact: Abby Pratt (apratt@advamed.org).
Japan
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 156,681 reported cases and 2,274 reported deaths compared to 126,644 reported cases and 1,966 reported deaths two weeks earlier.
- With overall infections in Japan reaching 2,000 a day, authorities across the country have called for a three-week period of concentrated efforts against the virus. In four hardest hit metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and Nagoya), bars and restaurants have been asked to close early.
- Hospital beds are running low in many of the hardest hit regions.
- Japan’s third wave differs from the second wave over the summer in that cases among the elderly are more prevalent now.
- Tokyo set a record for COVID-19 cases in November, reaching a monthly total of 9,857 – far outpacing its last record of 1,700 cases in August.
- The increase in cases in Japan appears to be having some impact on return to procedure as many hospitals are struggling to deal with the increase in COVID patients, but the evidence so far is anecdotal.
- The pandemic has had a severe impact on the financial situation of Japan’s hospitals. Nearly 70% of Japan’s hospitals are now operating in the red.
- Revenues for clinics continue to decline from a year ago, but the rate of decline is easing. Revenues dipped by 16.5% in May, 6.8% in July, and 4.9% in August.
- Japan will conditionally exempt business travelers and returnees from its 14-day quarantine policy, which was imposed on all arrivals from overseas to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The change will cover both Japanese nationals returning from overseas business trips and foreign residents with valid residence permits in Japan, with no restrictions on their overseas travel destinations. However, the change will only apply to residents of Japan who are planning to spend no more than seven days at their overseas destinations.
- Under the revised policy, Japan will also relax entry restrictions for travelers from Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, where the pandemic is considered to be kept relatively under control. Such travelers will be exempted from testing upon arrival as long as they observe a 14-day quarantine and don’t use public transport during that period.
- Japan will also lift the rule requiring the submission of a negative test result for travelers who will spend less than 14 days at their destination from any of the 11 regions.
- The pre-arrival PCR test requirement will remain in place for 152 countries and regions still covered by the entry restrictions.
- Japan and China have opened a fast-track business travel lane. Travelers between the countries will be able to forego mandatory quarantine requirements following the submission of itineraries and negative PCR test results.
- Japan's Ministry of Health has adopted priority regulatory review procedures for new COVID-related medical devices.
- Japan will ban purchases from foreign companies of advanced medical device companies that are deemed essential to the national security in the fight against Covid-19. This measure is based on concerns about China but applies to companies from all countries. The government aims to ensure stable supply of essential devices that are vulnerable to contamination by infection, such as implants and dialyzers.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org).
Korea
- South Korea’s numbers are again increased from last week. Korea has 511 new cases per day, 493 were locally transmitted and 18 originating from overseas. Korea nonetheless not seeing the dramatic spikes or infection levels that many other countries are experiencing.
- Still, Korea ranks 94 in the world in cumulative cases and 88th in the world in number of deaths.
- South Korea has 35,163 total cases, 6,572 are active, with 526 deaths and is reporting reporting 3 deaths per day. Daily new cases have risen to 511, up from 343 last week.
- Government officials said Wednesday that the country would hang on without imposing tougher COVID-19 curbs, reiterating the decision announced Sunday, despite metrics over the last two weeks that indicate the second-strictest tier in South Korea’s social distancing system would be appropriate.
- Korea is battling a third wave of infections caused by continued sporadic infection clusters traced to schools, private educational institutes, bars, hospitals, religious facilities and social gatherings across the country.
- Since last Tuesday, Korea has been on the middle social distancing tier, which bans indoor dining past 9 p.m. and allows only to-go orders at cafes. Some businesses classified as risky such as karaoke lounges, gyms, bathhouses and theme parks can operate under limited conditions. Indoor gatherings of up to 100 people are permitted.
- Government officials have called for the public to remain vigilant regarding social distancing, mask wearing and avoiding crowded areas. Contact-tracing regulations have also been strengthened. Submitting contact details is mandatory at most businesses and at all public venues. Noncompliance with contact tracers can result in fines and jail time.
- Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that the number of those quarantined at home in South Korea due to COVID-19 has soared to an all-time high level of over 70,000 and asked the public to cooperate with the government's antivirus measures. "Transmissions are continuing in all places, with the number of quarantined people soaring above 70,000 to reach an all-time high level since two days ago," Chung said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul. Chung stressed that the upcoming weekend would serve as a critical juncture in determining whether new cases continue to rise or subside.
- Korea has recently revised its hospital protocols to discharge lesser severity COVID patients more quickly in order to make room for more severely ill incoming patients.
- More than 490,000 high school seniors and other applicants are set to take the state college entrance exam Thursday amid persistent concerns over the recent spike in the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide. Health authorities said they are taking extra precautions to ensure all of them take the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) safely, and to prevent test sites from becoming another hotbed of infection. The annual CSAT is the largest educational event of the year, with hundreds of thousands of students sitting for the exam simultaneously across the country. This year's test was originally slated for Nov. 19, but was postponed by two weeks amid the pandemic.
- South Korea maintains its 2-week quarantine for all other incoming international travelers and a requirement for all inbound flights to check passengers' temperatures. Anyone with a temperature over 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit) is denied entry. Korea has not issued any guidance on an exemption that is supposedly available. Korea has indicated all US inbound travelers will be tested for symptoms prior to being moved to quarantine.
- South Korea’s movement toward implementation of a proposal that would potentially reduce the price of certain cardiac and peripheral stents has been at least temporarily postponed. We have received word that the December meeting that was scheduled to occur to discuss the proposal has been postponed. AdvaMed is in touch with members and the medtech association in Korea and has had several discussions with the US Government on this topic. We have sent a letter to the health ministry expressing opposition to the proposal and expect to send a second letter in response to a request for comments. Please contact Joseph Gatewood (jgatewood@advamed.org) if you have an interest in this matter and are not already engaged.
- Resources: http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/.
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Staff Contact: Joseph Gatewood (jgatewood@advamed.org)
ASEAN
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – ASEAN now has 1,220,141 reported cases and 28,302 reported deaths compared to 1,085,757 reported cases and 25,700 reported deaths two weeks earlier.
- ASEAN has seen more than 50,000 new cases for each of the past eleven weeks, with the vast majority of those accounted for by Indonesia, the Philippines, and more recently Myanmar and Malaysia. Indonesia surpassed 557,800 total cases and the Philippines has reported over 435,000 cases.
- Myanmar continues to experience a surge that started in September. It is now reporting 93,600 total cases. The number of deaths is 1,998.
- The Philippines and Indonesia account for 91.2% of the deaths from COVID-19 in the region. Indonesia’s total COVID-19 deaths have reached 17,355, the highest level in East Asia. The Philippines reported 8,446 deaths.
- Cambodia and Laos have each reported zero deaths, while Brunei has reported 3 deaths, and Singapore has reported 29 deaths (despite having over 58,000 cases), and Thailand has reported 60 deaths.
- Elective surgeries have resumed in Thailand and Vietnam.
- In Indonesia, provincial hospitals are resuming elective surgery with COVID-19 protocols in place.
- Malaysia maintains limits on elective surgery except in emergency cases.
- Singapore restricts most elective surgeries but allows certain procedures including cancer screening, surgical operations for advanced cataracts, flu vaccinations, and dental procedures.
- The Philippines extended its State of Calamity by a year to counter the pandemic. This extension will give national and local governments latitude to continue utilizing appropriate disaster relief funds and affords the government powers to monitor and control necessities and provide essential services to the affected populations.
- In Malaysia, schools and entertainment venues have been closed in much of the country and a ban on inter-state trave has been reinstituted.
- Malaysia has imposed an entry ban on citizens of countries recording more than 150,000 cases of COVID-19.
- The Malaysian government relaxed its recent entry ban on expatriate and professional visit pass holders from 23 countries, provided they receive approval from the Malaysian Immigration Department and a support letter from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
- Malaysia and Singapore partially reopened their border on August 10. Both governments have agreed to implement a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA). The RGL will enable cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes between both countries and the PCA will allow residents of Singapore and Malaysia who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to enter the country for work.
- Malaysia is considering fully reopening the Malaysia-Singapore border for daily commuters in January 2021 if conditions warrant.
- Starting November 18, Singapore will require travelers who are not Singaporeans or permanent residents entering Singapore from high-risk countries to take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before their departure.
- The Singapore Government is looking into phase 3 of reopening by end of 2020 if the number of COVID-19 community cases remain low. Phase 3 is expected to further relax social distancing measures.
- Singapore and Indonesia announced a green lane between the two countries aimed at keeping essential business going. Applications for travel include strict health protocols and controlled itineraries. Singapore also maintains agreements with Australia, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and Korea on fast-lane arrangements for essential travel.
- Singapore is piloting a new business travel pass for senior executives with regional or international responsibilities. Travelers on this pass would need to keep to a strict itinerary while abroad. On returning to Singapore, they would have the option of a COVID-19 test in lieu of a stay-home notice and would need to self-isolate until the results are released.
- Singapore has lifted border restrictions for all visitors from mainland China and Australia’s Victoria State.
- Singapore and Japan agreed to launch a Reciprocal Green Lane for essential business and official travel between the two countries.
- Singapore and Hong Kong have postponed the start of their bilateral air travel bubble, which will allow quarantine-free air travel between the two Asian hubs, through at least December due to a spike in cases in Hong Kong.
- The Philippines has extended the implementation of General Community Quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila for the entire month of December. Apart from Metro Manila, areas also under GCQ until the end of the year are Batangas, Iloilo City, Tacloban City, Lanao del Sur, Iligan and Davao City. The rest of the country will be under modified GCQ.
- Thailand now allows long-term stay visitors, including business travelers and tourists, who will be able to remain in the country for up to 90 days (with up to two extensions possible). Visitors must be from a designated low-risk country, must undergo testing, and must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Thailand. The government is considering reducing the quarantine period to 10 days.
- The Thai Government adopted a fifth phase of lockdown easing, allowing most daily activities and businesses to resume. It has lifted the ban on international flights and allows certain categories of individuals from Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore to enter the country. The Civil Aviation Authority will still apply stringent international travel restrictions preventing the entry of tourists.
- Vietnam announced that it would suspend all inbound commercial flights after detecting its first COVID-19 outbreak in nearly three months. Ho Chi Minh City will quarantine more than 230 people after confirming the country's first locally transmitted cases in 89 days. The infections were reportedly linked to a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant who tested positive after returning from Japan in mid-November.
- Vietnam and Japan have lifted mandatory quarantine for short-term visits for businessman and officials. However, there will be strict testing and medical surveillance protocols in place.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org)
Europe
There is continued increase across the EU, but the rate of increase appears to be in many instances significantly lessened. France, Spain, Italy, UK and Poland have high levels of cases per million. Belgium, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden also have similarly high levels, in some cases much higher on a per million basis. In terms of raw numbers, Russia has the most new cases, followed by Italy, Germany the UK, France and Poland. In the EU, the UK has experienced the most deaths, followed by Italy and France and Spain. Although not in the EU, Russia's reported numbers on COVID remain problematic with 2,347,401 total and (25,345 new) cases and just 41,053 reported deaths (and reporting one of the lowest death rates in Europe at 277 per million). By comparison, Italy, with much fewer (1,641,610) cases, reports 57,045 deaths. |
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