2nd Sep 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=736 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has secured Chinas support for a reverse quarantine program to boost travel into the mainland after two years of strict Covid curbs thwarted crossborder ties. The city leader said at a Thursday news briefing that officials from neighboring Guangdong province had backed his plan for travelers to first isolate in Hong Kong and then enter China quarantinefree during a virtual meeting. The main purpose is to first of all alleviate the burden of hotels in the mainland he said. The second goal of this proposal is to ensure that we will have a system to allow a regular flow of people from Hong Kong into Shenzhen. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-01/hong-kong-gets-nod-for-reverse-quarantine-into-china-scmp-says 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg The Chinese metropolis of Chengdu locked down its 21 million residents to contain a Covid19 outbreak a seismic move in the countrys vast Western region that has largely been untouched by the virus. The capital of Sichuan province Chengdu is the biggest city to shut down since Shanghais bruising twomonth lockdown earlier this year. The move which will upend the lives of millions of people and businesses with repercussions for Chinas economy and beyond shows the countrys commitment to the Covid Zero approach espoused by President Xi Jinping despite the disruption its causing. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-01/china-locks-down-western-megacity-chengdu-as-covid-zero-rolls-on 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Hong Kong is targeting an end to hotel quarantine in November ahead of a summit of global bankers and an international rugby competition even as a resurgence in Covid19 cases prompts health officials to push back on the plan according to people familiar with the debate. Chief Executive John Lee is leaning toward scrapping hotel quarantine before the November events to signal Hong Kong is back in business despite the objections of some in his administration the people said. Health Secretary Lo Chungmau is among those who want to tighten restrictions as cases surge one person added on the hope that suppressing cases will lead to the reopening of the mainland border. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-01/hong-kong-officials-target-end-to-hotel-quarantine-in-november 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Chengdu locks down during fourday citywide testing. Shenzhen has districts with over 15 mln residents and this will hit business Most curbs in big Chinese cities are intended for a few days according to the Zero Covid plan. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-chengdu-conduct-mass-covid-testing-lockdowns-cases-climb-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters More than twice as many tourists visited Spain in July than in the same month last year a number only slightly below prepandemic levels National Statistics Institute data showed on Thursday. The 9.1 million visitors in July spent close to 12 billion euros 12 billion more than twice as much as in 2021. Tourism earnings are a significant component of Spains gross domestic product. Before COVID19 put a halt to international travel in 2020 Spain received a record number of foreign tourists in 2019 with 9.9 million visiting in July of that year. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nine-million-foreigners-visited-spain-july-near-pre-pandemic-levels-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

National Geographic Imelda fled sexual violence at the hands of drug cartels in rural Puebla about two hours outside of Mexico City and arrived in New York City in 2013. She had no health insurance barely spoke English and as an undocumented immigrant she avoided situations that required revealing her identity. So in March 2020 even as the city became the national epicenter of the COVID19 pandemic Imelda who asked that her surname not be used due to risk of deportation resisted going to the hospital for her escalating fever and fatigue. When the symptoms began I wanted to go Imelda says but her fears outweighed her desire for treatment. Since arriving in the U.S. Imelda had visited a hospital only once for the birth of her second daughter. But in addition to worries about revealing her immigration status she was afraid of incurring medical bills that exceeded what she earned cleaning houses. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/covid-19-took-a-unique-toll-on-undocumented-immigrants 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian The UKs Covid19 alert level has been downgraded to level 2 meaning the virus is in general circulation but healthcare pressures and transmission are declining or stable. The chief medical officers of the UK nations and the national medical director of the NHS in England have jointly recommended that the Covid alert level be moved down from level 3 amid falling cases. They said the Covid19 wave of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 was subsiding. Rates of Covid have decreased as have the number of severe cases needing hospital care they added. However they said further Covid surges were likely as they urged people to take up the offer of vaccination. The autumn booster campaign is due to start within days. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/31/uk-downgrades-covid-19-alert-level-falling-cases 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

CBC.ca Ontario is dropping the mandatory fiveday isolation period for those who test positive for COVID19 the provinces top doctor announced Wednesday. The move is part of the provinces broader plan to prepare for the fall respiratory illness season and comes just as Ontario wastewater data is showing a slight uptick in the amount of COVID19 in the province. Dr. Kieran Moore said the COVID19 pandemic has moved out of a crisis phase and become something that will require longterm management. The seventh wave has crested he said but the virus remains in the community and Public Health Ontario expects to see an increase in transmission as more people gather inside during the cooler fall months. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/kieran-moore-flu-season-covid-2022-1.6567840 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Canadas most populous province Ontario said on Wednesday that residents can come out of isolation with a mask as soon as 24 hours after their COVID19 symptoms dissipate under a strategy to homogenize guidance for all respiratory illnesses. Asymptomatic COVIDpositive residents as well as those who come in contact with an infected person can go to work or school but they must wear a face mask for 10 days the Ontario government said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-ontario-allows-masked-people-with-asymptomatic-covid-public-2022-08-31/ 1st Sep 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The U.S. government expects its supply of COVID19 vaccines and antiviral treatments to run out over the next year and is preparing for them to be sold via the commercial market the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday. President Joe Bidens administration expects to run out of federal funding for buying and distributing COVID19 vaccines by January although it has already bought over 170 million doses for a booster campaign later this year according to a blog post written by Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn OConnell. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-plans-move-covid-vaccines-treatments-private-markets-2023-2022-08-30/ 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

Bangkok Post Small waves of new Covid19 cases are being seen locally and globally but the number of severely ill patients and fatalities is not rising according to the Centre for Covid19 Situation Administration. The number of severely ill patients and fatalities is stable worldwide and has been declining steadily in Thailand CCSA spokeswoman Sumanee Watcharasin said on Thursday. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2381895/serious-covid-case-numbers-declining 2nd Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

ITV News Wales autumn Covid19 vaccination programme will start to be rolled out across Wales from Thursday September 1. Care home residents and staff will be the first to receive the vaccine in an attempt to protect the countrys most vulnerable ahead of the winter months. Everyone who is eligible for the autumn booster will be invited for a vaccination by their health boards. Similarly to earlier in the pandemic invitations will be issued in order of vulnerability with everyone eligible being offered a booster vaccine by December. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2022-09-01/all-you-need-to-know-about-wales-autumn-covid-booster-programme 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

The Irish Times Healthcare workers and people aged 12 to 49 with long term health conditions have been invited to make an appointment for their second Covid19 booster jab by the Health Service Executive HSE. HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said appointments are available from Thursday. We know that those who have longterm health conditions are at greater risk from serious illness from Covid19 he said. Getting a second booster vaccine now will help protect these people particularly as we come in to the autumn. We are now also calling healthcare workers for their next Covid19 booster. https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/09/01/covid-19-booster-vaccines-offered-to-healthcare-staff-and-those-with-health-conditions/ 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

South China Morning Post Details of new policy to be announced next week Dr Chuang Shukkwan of the Centre for Health Protection says. Top minister will reveal a major NGO will join the governments effort to boost inoculation rate among the elderly https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3190952/coronavirus-5-11-age-group-set-be-included-hong-kong-vaccine 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

Wales Online The autumn Covid19 booster rollout has started in Wales as care home residents and staff become the first in line to get their next jab. The vaccine has been made available to all those eligible from September 1 as the Welsh Government looks to keep Covid rates down for the coming winter. Care home residents frontline health and social care workers and all those aged over 50 will be called for a vaccination by their health boards. Invitations will be issued in order of vulnerability with everyone eligible being offered a booster vaccine by the end of the year. The vaccines will be administered in a variety of settings including GP surgeries and vaccination centres https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/covid-19-booster-vaccination-roll-24897240 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

YAHOO!News The CDCs vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to vote on new COVID19 booster shots Thursday. The FDA authorized Pfizer and Modernas updated boosters Wednesday https://news.yahoo.com/cdcs-vaccine-advisory-committee-scheduled-111524446.html 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

BBC News Covid19 booster vaccination programme in Northern Ireland is due to start on Monday 19 September. Care home residents and staff will be among the first to be offered the vaccine.. Many of those receiving the latest booster will get a new vaccine from Moderna https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-62749795 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

ABC News Daily reporting of COVID statistics will be wound back from this weekend. A blanket COVID19 vaccine mandate direction for private health care workers will be lifted National cabinet has agreed people who test positive for COVID will only be required to isolate for five days from September 9. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-01/queensland-covid19-management-vaccine-mandate-reporting/101277360 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Hong Kong hopes to introduce reverse quarantine for people going to mainland China as the financial hub seeks to open up to the neighbouring technology city of Shenzhen after months of restrictions the city leader said on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kong-leader-proposes-reverse-quarantine-china-travel-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Macau is planning to gradually reopen the city to foreign travellers from certain countries who meet its COVID19 criteria its government said on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/macau-plans-gradually-reopen-city-foreign-travelers-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Germany can next week start using COVID19 vaccines which have been adapted for the Omicron variant and got approval for use in the European Union on Thursday Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said. He said approval of the BA.1 vaccine was a quantum leap in the fight against the pandemic as vaccines were now available that work well against all previously known virus variants. From next week vaccinations can begin with the new doses. Now is the optimal time to close the gaps in vaccination for the autumn he said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-start-omicron-adapted-covid-vaccinations-next-week-minister-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

Partisan Exits

BBC News Inaccurate messages shared by thousands claimed that pregnant or breastfeeding women were now recommended not to take the vaccine. In fact the NHS says the vaccine is both safe and strongly recommended for this group. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62739554?at_campaign=64&ampat_medium=custom7&ampat_custom2=twitter&ampat_custom3=Regional+BBC+South&ampat_custom1=link&ampat_custom4=695914BA-29DD-11ED-B284-C5380EDC252D 1st Sep 2022

Partisan Exits

EURACTIV The public inquiry into the governments handling of the COVID19 pandemic has started its work in a process that will lead to key government ministers officials and scientific advisors giving evidence in public. The inquiry will begin to take evidence from witnesses which are likely to include former health minister Matt Hancock and outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson early next year The latest stage of the inquirys investigations known as Module 2 will focus on decisions and announcements made by the UK government between early January and late March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The Johnson government earned a mixed report card during the pandemic. After being slow to introduce lockdown measures to curb the spread of the first wave of the virus and struggling with shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment leading to one of Europes highest death tolls the government then earned praise for the speed of its vaccine rollout programme. https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/uks-covid-19-inquiry-starts-work/ 1st Sep 2022

Partisan Exits

The Daily Telegraph on MSN.com The Covid inquiry has failed to confirm whether it will examine the closure of schools when it considers the decisions taken by the Government in the early stages of the pandemic. On Wednesday the inquiry opened its second phase of investigations which will explore decisions taken by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet as well as the advice from officials and experts. There will be a particular focus on the first months of 2020 until the first lockdown was imposed in late March. It will later examine decisions taken throughout 2020 until Feb 2022. In a document setting out the provisional scope for module two the inquiry said it will examine the Governments initial strategies for community testing. It will also look at the decisions behind national lockdowns local and regional restrictions circuit breakers social distancing working from home and the use of face masks. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/covid-inquiry-must-spend-significant-time-examining-lockdown-impact-on-children/ar-AA11kcWo 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Immunization experts advising the federal government recommended newly authorized Covid19 booster shots the next step toward making the reformulated doses widely available. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 in two votes on Thursday that anyone who was already eligible for a booster should now get the reformulated shots which target both the original virus and Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-boosters-targeting-omicron-to-be-reviewed-by-cdc-advisers-11662024602 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg White House health officials warned that new pandemics could prove more serious than Covid19 in a report that reviews efforts to prepare for the high likelihood of future serious outbreaks. While the Biden administration has pushed repeatedly for funding to combat that sort of threat Congress has yet to allocate more money. In the meantime the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is embarking on a reorganization based on lessons learned during Covid and another government office is being given new powers to help coordinate responses to health emergencies. As staggering as the losses of the last nearly three years have been COVID19 was a moderate pandemic Biden administration officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Covid19 Response Team said in the report. The US government must seize the moment to transform its scientific capabilities in preparation for the increasing frequency of biological threats on the horizon. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-01/white-house-warns-of-pandemics-worse-than-covid-as-health-overhauls-begin 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

France24 The European Unions drug regulator on Thursday backed two separate Covid19 vaccine boosters updated to target the Omicron variant and developed by Moderna and the team of Pfizer and BioNTech. Europe is preparing to roll out shots ahead of an anticipated rise in infections this winter. The new socalled bivalent shots combat the BA.1 version of Omicron and the original virus first detected in China. The recommendation is to authorise the vaccines for people aged 12 years and above who have received at least primary vaccination against Covid19 the European Medicines Agency EMA said. https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220901-eu-regulator-approves-first-covid-booster-shots-targeting-omicron-variant 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Business Insider Vaxart announced positive topline data from the first part of a planned twopart Phase 2 study of its Wuhan Sonly oral pill COVID19 vaccine candidate VXACoV21.1S. The topline data readout exhibited that the trial met its primary safety and secondary immunogenicity endpoints. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/vaxart-shares-positive-top-line-data-from-mid-stage-oral-pill-covid-19-vaccine-study-1031719399 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Vox.com Deaths from Covid19 are at some of their lowest rates in the United States since the start of the pandemic but theyre still alarmingly high according to some health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that on average close to 400 people are dying of the disease every day. The total number of cases hospitalizations and deaths is trending downward albeit at an agonizingly slow pace. And as summer gives way to fall federal health officials are bracing for another spike in cases. The good news is that its unlikely the Covid19 surge expected this fall will rack up tolls anywhere near those last year or the year before given how much immunity is now present throughout the population. More than 79 percent of Americans have had at least one dose of a Covid19 vaccine 67 percent have had two and 33 percent have had three. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/23316450/covid-19-death-rate-vaccine-booster-elderly 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

BioPharma-Reporter The US regulator has granted emergency authorization for PfizerBioNTechs and Modernas Covid booster shots that target the highly contagious BA.5 omicron subvariant. https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2022/09/01/FDA-authorizes-Moderna-and-Pfizer-s-updated-COVID-19-booster-shots 1st Sep 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Deal to utilise Aspens nearidle COVID vaccine production lines. Production under deal will not start before 12 months. Aspen expecting orders for more vaccines from GAVI UNICEF. Its fullyear profit jumps 31 revenue up 2 https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/safricas-aspen-indias-serum-institute-sign-vaccines-deal-africa-2022-08-31/ 1st Sep 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Advocate New Zealand wont be rushed into ditching its remaining COVID19 restrictions as Australia opts to loosen pandemic rules. This week Australian leaders agreed to cut isolation requirements from seven days to five for all but workers in highrisk settings while also ditching masks on domestic flights. https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7886449/nz-to-review-covid-19-settings-this-month/?cs=5 2nd Sep 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally continued to fall nearly everywhere in the world in what the World Health Organization described as a welcome decline at a media briefing on Wednesday https://www.independent.co.uk/news/who-ap-geneva-food-and-drug-administration-britain-b2156836.html 1st Sep 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNBC One of Chinas biggest cities Chengdu announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents as it launched four days of citywide Covid19 testing as some of countrys most populous and economically important urban centers battle outbreaks. All residents in Chengdu the capital of Sichuan province were ordered to stay largely at home from 6 p.m. on Thursday with households allowed to send one person per day to shop for necessities the city government said in a statement. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/chengdu-locks-down-21point2-million-people-as-chinese-cities-battle-covid-19.html 1st Sep 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Hong Kong reported 10586 new COVID19 infections on Thursday as a rise in daily cases triggers concerns that authorities will tighten COVID19 restrictions just as the government has gradually relaxed some of the worlds most stringent measures. Government advisers have said the recent rise in infections was expected and dismissed the need for tighter restrictions according to local media. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kong-covid-cases-hit-10586-amid-concerns-over-tighter-restrictions-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022

New Lockdown

The Wall Street Journal Chinese cities tightened measures to halt Covid19 flareups threatening further damage to the countrys embattled economy ahead of a Communist Party congress to decide the nations top leadership. Chengdu ordered its 21 million residents to stay at home from 6 p.m. local time on Thursday according to a statement from the citys government. Authorities will conduct citywide Covid19 tests through Sunday with one person in each household allowed to leave home once a day to buy groceries with proof of a negative Covid19 test. They gave no date for when the measures would end. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-major-cities-edge-into-covid-19-lockdowns-ahead-of-party-congress-11662033592 1st Sep 2022

New Lockdown

Reuters The southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chengdu announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents as it launched four days of citywide COVID19 testing as some of the countrys most populous and economically important cities battle outbreaks. Residents of Chengdu the capital of Sichuan province were ordered to stay home from 6 p.m. on Thursday with households allowed to send one person per day to shop for necessities the city government said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-chengdu-conduct-mass-covid-testing-lockdowns-cases-climb-2022-09-01/ 1st Sep 2022