COVID-19 Outbreak: Weekly Global Report for Friday, February 5, 2021
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 topped 101 million. Deaths around the world have exceeded 2.28 million. The countries with the most reported cases continue to be the U.S. (26.6 million), India (10.8 million), and Brazil (9.3 million).
- U.S. cases exceeded 23.2 million with deaths increasing to 454,000.
- Staff Contact: Ralph Ives (rives@advamed.org).
China
- Overview: With new cases cut in half over the previous week, the government says its strict measures have worked in northern China. Beijing has already taken a host of steps aimed at reducing the spread of the virus during the current Lunar Near Year travel period, even warning overzealous local governments not to overstep bounds. As of Jan. 31, China has vaccinated 24 million of its citizens
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics: China’s total COVID cases now stand at 100,248, an increase of 550 cases over the previous week. Deaths now stand at 4,821, an increase of 8 compared to last week.
- Hebei outbreak: 26 million residents in Hebei are still required to stay at home. Experts said Hebei’s outbreak has possibly revealed holes in the country’s coronavirus prevention strategy for villages, as many rural patients chose to treat themselves rather than go immediately to a hospital for a proper diagnosis.
- Beijing tightens entry requirements: from Jan. 28 until March 13, Beijing will require people arriving from low-risk areas in China to show negative COVID-19 test results, tightening curbs ahead of the Lunar New Year and the annual parliament meetings in early March known as the “Two Sessions.” People entering the capital from those areas will need to undergo a 14-day health observation period after arrival.
- Travel rules related to Lunar New Year holiday: China’s National Health Commission announced last Wednesday that people traveling over the holiday period will need to show a negative test issued up to seven days before their departure. Such travelers then need to observe a 14-day quarantine while at home, during which they need to take a COVID-19 test every seven days. Many observers speculated that the highly complex and strict procedures could dissuade many people from returning to the rural areas during the holiday.
- State Council warns against local overreach: on Feb. 3, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council warned local governments against arbitrarily expanding travel restrictions for the upcoming spring festival, including banning cross-province returnees in the name of pandemic control. It further advised against the application of nuclear acid tests for low-risk populations moving across low-risk areas.
- Vaccine roll-out: On December 31, China approved the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine, the country’s first for general use. Results from ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials showed an efficacy rate of 79 percent. However, the lack of details by Chinese regulators and Sinopharm has raised concerns in some circles. According to the National Health Commission, 24 million Chinese citizens have received the vaccine as of Jan 31.
- Hiccup in second vaccine: earlier this month, Brazilian researchers celebrated results showing 78% efficacy for the vaccine developed by Beijing-based Sinovac. However, the Brazilian research institute conducting the trials apparently released only partial results, creating unrealistic expectations. Updated results show an efficacy rate of around 51%. Indonesia and Pakistan have approved the Sinovac-developed vaccine for emergency use.
- Updated estimates on 2020 hospital visits: according to the National Health Commission, the total number of hospital visits/medical consultations in January through September 2020 reached 3.9 billion, a decrease of 15.3% over the same period in 2019. It is important to note that this percentage decrease has gotten progressively smaller since June, perhaps indicating Chinese patients have become more comfortable in visiting medical institutions in the second half of 2020.
- WHO team investigating COVID: China on Jan. 14 finally permitted entry to the WHO researchers investigating the origins of COVID-19. The Chinese government had previously blocked their arrival, claiming visas for some members of the group had not yet been approved. On Feb. 3, the WHO team made a high-profile visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
- The Chinese economy: China’s factory activity grew at the slowest pace in five months in January, hit by a wave of domestic coronavirus infections, but still in line with the ongoing recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell to 51.3 in January from 51.9 in December.
- U.S.-China relations: in its early months, the Biden administration is pursuing “strategic patience” in its approach to China. Practically speaking, the administration will make no sudden moves to either target or engage China, while in the meantime engaging allies and conducting a thorough policy review. Biden cabinet nominees uttered tough language towards China in their confirmation hearings this week, however, perhaps indicating the Biden administration’s overall approach may not be too dissimilar from the that of its predecessor.
- Staff Contact: Kyle Churchman (kchurchman@advamed.org)
India
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 10,791,123 total cases, 155,025 active cases/154,703 deaths (John Hopkins & MoHFW) as compared to 10,702,031 total cases, 173,740 active cases, 153,847 deaths (John Hopkins & MoHFW) last week. 44,49,552 people have been vaccinated. The country is showing a declining trend of Covid-19 cases since the last four months and compared to similarly placed nations, the cases and deaths per million population in India is among the lowest, the government told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Feb 02.
- India’s puzzling decline in cases and overall low mortality is explored in this insightful Washington Post article.
- The Government aims to inoculate over 92.6 lakh healthcare workers employed in Central, state and private facilities through its Covid-19 vaccination drive launched on January 16, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday, Feb 02. India has inoculated around 45% of healthcare workers across the country against Covid-19 in 18 days since the launch of its vaccination drive on Jan 16, becoming the fastest country to vaccinate more than 4 million people, official data till February 2 shows.
- India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd will seek emergency-use authorisation for Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by next month, a company official said on Wednesday, Feb 03 after peer-reviewed trial data confirmed its effectiveness.
- About one in four of India's 1.35 billion people may have been infected with the coronavirus, said a source with direct knowledge of a government serological survey, suggesting the country's real caseload was many times higher than reported.
- The Union Health Ministry has decided to depute two multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala and Maharashtra, which are contributing to almost 70 per cent of total Covid-19 active cases, to collaborate with state health authorities in instituting public health measures for virus management.
- After increasing the number of Covid vaccination centres, Delhi government has also increased the number of days immunisation will happen in a week. A Delhi government official said the vaccination drive would now be carried out on all days of the week, except Sunday.
- India ranks 86th in Covid-19 performance among 98 countries evaluated by Sydney-based think-tank Lowy Institute, whose Covid-19 performance index was released Thursday (January 28). The UK, which ranks better than India at 66, and the US, whose performance is among the worst five, rank poorly too, while China was not included in the study.
- India rolled out a long list of countries around the world which would be getting vaccines from New Delhi, some as grants and some as commercial exports. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) announced that over the next few days, India planned to gift 100,000 vaccine doses to Oman; 500,000 doses to Caricom countries; 200,000 doses to Nicaragua and 200,000 doses to the Pacific Island states.
- Staff Contact: Abby Pratt (apratt@advamed.org).
Japan
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – 400,001 reported cases and 6,189 reported deaths compared to 381,139 reported cases and 5,514 reported deaths last week.
- The government announced that the current State of Emergency will continue for an additional month, until March 7. The overall pace of new cases has slowed over the past month, but Japan still had the largest number of cases in one month in January.
- Under the State of Emergency, the relevant prefectural governors are asking people to stay at home after 8 p.m., while restaurants, pubs and cafes that serve alcoholic beverages are requested to serve them only from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and close by 8 p.m.
- Hospitals in COVID-hit regions are severely strained, with some reportedly on the brink of collapse. The Chair of the Japan Medical Association said that Japan doesn’t have enough doctors and nurses to deal with the caseload.
- The central government has asked companies to reduce the number of workers going to the office by 70% and facilitate telecommuting and staggered commuting hours.
- In addition, under the States of Emergency, physicians now have the option, in consultation with patients, of postponing procedures if they feel their hospital’s bed will be needed for COVID-19 patients.
- Japan confirmed that the UK variant of the virus has been found in the country and has banned all foreign tourists from entering Japan as a result.
- In addition, Japan temporarily suspended an arrangement allowing business travelers from 11 Asian countries and regions to enter Japan, effectively banning the entry of nonresident foreign travelers. This suspension will be in effect through February 7. Japanese and foreign nationals with valid legal statuses are permitted to return to the country under the latest entry restrictions.
- Japan has contracted with Pfizer for 120 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered in the first half of 2021, and for enough vaccine for 72 million people by the end of 2021. Approval of the Pfizer vaccine is expected around February 2021. Pfizer is currently conducting a small-scale trial of the vaccine in Japan. Japan has also contracted for 50 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 120 million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Astra Zeneca will manufacture 90 million of those doses in Japan.
- Vaccinations are not expected to begin in Japan until late February.
- Japan announced that it plans to inoculate its entire population with a COVID-19 vaccine by the time the Olympics start in July 2021.
- It has asked local governments to make arrangements to allow 30-40 million elderly citizens to be vaccinated by the end of March. About 10,000 healthcare workers who work with COVID-19 patients should receive the vaccine by the end of February, and around 3 million other healthcare workers will receive it by mid-March.
- According to a recent survey, 44% of advanced medical care hospitals are experiencing significant postponements of procedures due to patients’ concerns about COVID-19.
- 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.
- Japan's Ministry of Health has adopted priority regulatory review procedures for new COVID-related medical devices.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org).
Korea
- South Korea’s numbers currently are persistent but not increasing. They are reporting 451 new cases down from 497 last week. New deaths are back to more in line with prior experience at 7 per day. South Korea continues to avoid the dramatic spikes that many other countries are experiencing.
- South Korea has 76,762 total cases, 8,610 active cases, with 1,448 deaths, reporting 7 deaths per day. Total cases per million population have remained low compared to most of the world at just 1,555 (S. Korea ranks as one of the lowest among the more highly populated countries). Deaths per million remain comparatively low as well at just 28.
- The South Korean government has unveiled its plan for vaccinating the public, with the rollout set to kick off in a few weeks. The first doses will be offered to front-line health care workers in the Seoul area, where the active outbreaks have been concentrated, starting next month. From March, older adults and workers at long-term care homes and other congregate settings and first responders, including contact tracers, will be getting the jabs. Next in line are adults aged 65 or older, residents of group homes and the rest of health care personnel, who can expect their inoculations in May. Then comes the turn for essential workers such as police officers, firefighters and educators and adults with medical conditions in July. Some of the high-risk medical conditions being considered for priority vaccination are diabetes and heart and lung diseases.
- Koreans who are under 50 and healthy may be able to get their shots in the last few months of the year. The government vowed that all Koreans would eventually be vaccinated in phases except for pregnant women and children under 18, unless future trial results demonstrate otherwise.
- Under the plan, 1.3 million people will be vaccinated by March, 9 million by June, and the rest of the 33.25 million in the following months. In other words, over 75 percent of the vaccines will be distributed in the latter half of the year. Government officials have stated that they into to roll out the COVID-19 vaccinations as planned to reach herd immunity by November. They hope to achieve two things: to protect health and lives and to begin the journey back to normal.
- Korea’s plan of getting to herd immunity by fall could be complicated with the country reporting the first local outbreak involving a new and potentially more transmissible variant. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s deputy director Kwon Jun-wook on Thursday warned of the possibility of the variants making the situation worse. “From what we know, the variants are capable of spreading more easily,” he said. “If our commitment to social distancing wanes in March and April when vaccinations are underway, I worry that it could trigger another big surge in infections.”
- In a previous briefing, the deputy director has called the emergence of variants “one of the greatest risks in the upcoming phase of the pandemic,” and said that their presence in communities could force Korea to “relive the nightmares of December.”
- At least 2.71 million doses of coronavirus vaccines are expected to arrive in South Korea in the first half of this year through an international vaccine procurement program, health authorities said Thursday. The country will receive 117,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines and 2.59 million doses of vaccines by AstraZeneca through the World Health Organization's global vaccine project, known as the COVAX Facility.
- South Korea, 52 million population, has secured access to coronavirus vaccines enough for 56 million people. The COVAX project will supply 20 million doses of vaccines to inoculate 10 million people.
- South Korea has deals in place to secure vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, which require two shots, and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, which requires one jab. The nation is also close to striking a deal to buy coronavirus vaccines from US drug-maker Novavax. It has no plan to purchase Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, which showed 91.6 percent of efficacy in the third stage clinical test.
- On Switzerland's decision to withhold approval for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, the South Korean government said it will await the outcome of a review by the country's drug safety agency. A controversy arose globally on the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for the elderly, as there is not enough data to back its efficacy in older people. In its first meeting Sunday over an efficacy review of the vaccine, a panel of South Korean medical experts said AstraZeneca's vaccine can be administered to elderly people.
- The number of unemployed or underemployed people in South Korea climbed to the second-highest on record in December at 14.6 percent, according to Statistics Korea. While the nation’s official jobless rate stayed at 4.1 percent in the same month, the extended-based jobless rate suggests that the “de facto” jobless rate was higher by more than 10 percentage points than the official figure.
- We are still awaiting official word whether the government will extend or lower the current social distancing level, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday slated for Feb. 11-13. Currently, Level 2.5, the second highest in the country's five-tier scheme, has been applied in the greater Seoul area, with Level 2 in other areas. Private gatherings of five or more have been banned across the country, while the operation of restaurants has been limited after 9 p.m.
- South Korea’s current snowballing budget deficit, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic “can be offset by gradual consolidation” in coming years, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. The remark by Andreas Bauer, Korea mission chief at the IMF, apparently aims to alleviate concerns surrounding the nation’s government debt surged by four rounds of supplementary budgets implemented to finance COVID-19 relief programs.
- Associations of small merchants filed a petition on Thursday with the Constitutional Court, asking it to review whether virus-related restrictions violate their basic property rights. The petition is the third of its kind, with the first one filed by bar and internet cafe owners on Jan. 5 and the second one by gym owners and others on Jan. 29.
- South Korea continues to impose suspension of direct flights from Britain until at least February 11.
- Foreigners arriving at South Korean airports must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their departure to the nation.
- Foreigners from Britain and South Africa who fail to present negative PCR test results will be banned from entering the nation, and incoming Korean nationals without test results will be isolated in temporary living facilities for two weeks upon their arrival in the nation, the KDCA said.
- 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. A 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.
- We have submitted a letter in response to a recently issued request for comments on the proposal for potential implementation of pricing controls on stents. 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/.
- Staff Contact: Joseph Gatewood (jgatewood@advamed.org).
ASEAN
- Weekly COVID-19 statistics – ASEAN now has 2,109,124 reported cases and 46,075 reported deaths compared to 1,970,045 reported cases and 43,731 reported deaths last week.
- The vast majority of cases are in Indonesia, the Philippines, and more recently Myanmar and Malaysia. Indonesia surpassed 1.1 million cases last week and the Philippines has reported over 530,000 cases.
- Indonesia’s total COVID-19 deaths have reached 31,001, the highest level in East Asia. The Philippines reported 10,942 deaths.
- Myanmar continues to experience a major surge that started in September. It is now reporting 140,927 total cases. The number of deaths is 3,160.
- Cambodia and Laos have each reported zero deaths, while Brunei has reported 3 deaths, and Singapore has reported 29 deaths (despite having over 59,000 cases). These numbers are unchanged from last week.
- Thailand, which in mid-December had just over 4,000 cases of COVID-19, experienced a major surge that originated in a shrimp market southeast of Bangkok. It is now reporting over 21,249 cases ad 79 deaths. Thailand will begin vaccinations in late February.
- Indonesia has secured orders for 600 million doses of vaccine from four producers. This includes between 13.7 million and 23.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX system. The vaccines will arrive in two phases: 25-35% of doses in Q1 2021, and 65-75% in Q2. The Ministry of Health said this vaccine can be used for those who are over 60, unlike the Sinovac vaccine, currently in use in Indonesia. President Jokowi has set a target of finishing the vaccination process within this year.
- Malaysia expects to receive the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines on February 26. The government agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of the vaccine in November and an additional 12.2 million doses in January. Once delivered, the vaccines will be distributed nationwide over a period of one to two weeks. Malaysia has also signed agreements for 18.4 million doses of vaccines produced by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute and China's Sinovac.
- 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.
- Hospitals in some parts of Indonesia, including Java and Bali, are on the brink of collapse as the nation passed one million confirmed cases.
- As of January 1, Indonesia has closed its border to foreign nationals to mitigate the increased spread of COVID-19. The new policy provides exemptions for holders of diplomatic visas and official visas related to foreign officials at the ministerial level, holders of limited stay permits, and permanent resident permits.
- Malaysia has adopted lockdown measures that will apply to most of the country as daily coronavirus cases in Malaysia continue to surge. Five essential sectors including construction, agriculture, and manufacturing will remain open with limited capacity, while interstate domestic travel is banned and a number of businesses will be required to close under the Movement Control Order (MCO). The MCO has been extended through February 18.
- Staff Contact: Phil Agress (PAgress@AdvaMed.org)
Europe
- Europe overall continues to struggle in its attempts to abate the virus, with many countries experiencing persistent or increased spiking (France, Spain, and even Germany). Italy and Belgium seem to be making progress in getting its numbers and rate of increase to lower levels.
- In terms of new cases, Spain leads with 31,596, followed by France (26,362), UK (19,202), Russia (16,474), Germany (12,579), Italy (13,186) and Portugal (9,083). Italy’s numbers have been on a significant downward trend, while Spain and France remain high. Germany is having lower but persistent spiking. The UK has seen a drop in new cases since its immunization program has begun, but the numbers are still high.
- The UK leads Europe in deaths at 109,335 followed by Italy, France, Russia, Spain and Germany. (see chart below). Russia's reported numbers on COVID remain problematic with perhaps the highest number of total cases of any country at 3,901,204 (but now only slightly higher than the UK’s total) and 74,684 reported deaths (and reporting one of the lowest death rates in Europe at 512 per million). By comparison Germany with more than 1.5 million fewer cases (2,252,547) reports 60,212 deaths and a death rate of 717 per million.
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