Tag: Covid-19

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-Top News China USA

US lifts Covid curbs on travellers from China

File photo taken on Nov. 25, 2020 shows travelers wearing face masks lining up for security checks at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the United States. (Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua/IANS)

The air passengers will no longer need to get tested and show a negative Covid-19 test result, or show documentation of recovery from Covid-19.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted mandatory Covid-19 test requirements for travellers from China.

The decision took effect for flights departing to the US from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and designated airports at or after 3 p.m. on Friday, Xinhua news agency quoted CDC as saying.

This means that air passengers will no longer need to get tested and show a negative Covid-19 test result, or show documentation of recovery from Covid-19, prior to boarding a flight to the US from those places, according to the health body.

Designated airports include Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport, according to the CDC.

The US started requiring pre-departure negative Covid tests for travellers ages two and above flying from China on January 5.

The policy followed a surge in coronavirus cases in China after it ended its strict “Covid-zero” policy in December last year.

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

Covid marks sixth leading cause of death in US in Jan

Pedestrians pass a sign advertising a COVID-19 testing site in New York, the United States, on May 12, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua/IANS)

XBB.1.5 is growing in proportion in all regions nationwide, according to the CDC. BQ.1.1 remains the second most prevalent strain at 9.4 per cent…reports Asian Lite News

The highly transmissible Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 85 per cent of all Covid-19 cases reported in the US this week, according to the latest estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The prevalence of XBB.1.5 kept increasing since late last year — up from 79.2 per cent last week and 71.9 per cent two weeks prior, Xinhua news agency reported citing the estimates as saying.

XBB.1.5 is growing in proportion in all regions nationwide, according to the CDC. BQ.1.1 remains the second most prevalent strain at 9.4 per cent.

The CDC first started tracking XBB.1.5 in November last year, when it accounted for less than 1 per cent of cases nationwide.

Since then, the strain is spreading quickly in the US. Early study suggests XBB.1.5 has a couple of concerning mutations that suggest it is even more contagious than other strains, possibly the most transmissible one so far.

While XBB.1.5 is spreading easier, scientists said it does not seem to cause more severe disease. The US still remains the worst-ht country in the world with the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

As of Saturday morning, the country’s overall number of cases and fatalities stood at 105,169,945 and 1,144,441, respectively.

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-Top News Asia News China

Chinese Families Call for Probe into Vaccine Side Effects

A health worker prepares a dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 8, 2021. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua/IANS)

The letter also called for the government to pay the medical expenses of those left sick or disabled by vaccines, and offer them appropriate levels of care….reports Asian Lite News

Dozens of families who have reported major health problems and deaths in China after getting vaccinated for various illnesses in recent years are calling on the Chinese government to investigate the matter, according to a media report.

An open letter titled “Suggestions on improving protection from vaccine-induced harm nationwide” called on the National Health Commission to investigate all cases of major health problems occurring after vaccination, and to call in independent and scientific investigators to probe their claims, RFA reported.

The letter also called for the government to pay the medical expenses of those left sick or disabled by vaccines, and offer them appropriate levels of care.

The letter came after a court in Beijing refused to accept a lawsuit filed by victims of vaccine-related health issues against the government at the highest level.

“We went to the No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court hoping to file a case, but the court refused to accept our lawsuit when it heard that we were going to sue the State Council,” campaigner Tan Hua told Radio Free Asia.

“Then we got a call from the police, warning us on the one hand, trying to maintain stability, and saying they wanted us to lodge our complaint back home,” she said.

Tan said she and some 20 other campaigners had tried to file the lawsuit as a last resort after being prevented repeatedly from petitioning through official channels.

She said they may try to find more affected families to join the lawsuit.

“Judging from the current number of parents and patients [we know of], we estimate that there may be one or two hundred people. We have doubts as to whether these one or two hundred people will be allowed to gather in Beijing to jointly file a lawsuit with the court,” Tan said.

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-Top News China COVID-19

‘No new Covid variants emerged during China’s recent outbreak’

Workers line up for nucleic acid testing at the construction site of a residential area in Jiangdong New Area of Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Sept. 2, 2022.(Xinhua/Yang Guanyu/IANS)

Imported cases during the same period mostly involved different variants to those dominant in Beijing….reports Asian Lite News

No new Covid-19 variants have emerged in China during the recent surge in infections since the country ended its zero-Covid policy, according to an analysis of cases in Beijing published in The Lancet.

The study suggests two existing Omicron sub-variants, BA.5.2 and BF.7, among the most dominant variants in Beijing during 2022, accounted for more than 90 per cent of local infections between November 14 and December 20, 2022.

Imported cases during the same period mostly involved different variants to those dominant in Beijing.

Genome analysis of 413 new Covid-19 infections in Beijing spanning the time period when China lifted its most strict pandemic control policies suggests that all were caused by existing strains.

“Our analysis suggests two known Omicron sub-variants – rather than any new variants – have chiefly been responsible for the current surge in Beijing, and likely China as a whole. However, with ongoing large-scale circulation of Covid-19 in China, it is important we continue to monitor the situation closely so that any new variants that might emerge are found as early as possible,” said Professor George Gao of the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The results represent a snapshot of the pandemic in China, due to the characteristics of Beijing’s population and the circulation of highly transmissible Covid-19 strains there.

In the three years since Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic, the emergence of variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron has caused multiple waves of cases around the world.

In the latest study, the authors analysed Covid-19 samples detected in Beijing in 2022. Genome sequences were generated using rapid, large-scale sequencing technology, and their evolutionary history and population dynamics analysed using existing high-quality Covid-19 sequences.

Analysis of the 413 new sequences revealed they all belong to existing, known COVID-19 strains.

The dominant strain in Beijing after November 14 2022 was BF.7, which accounted for 75.7 per cent of local infections. Another Omicron sub-variant, BA5.2, was responsible for 16.3 per cent of local cases.

Professor Wolfgang Preiser and Dr Tongai Maponga of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, who were not involved in the study, said: “It is welcome to see this much-needed data from China. It is certainly reassuring that this study yielded no evidence for novel variants but not a surprise: the surge is amply explained by the abrupt cessation of effective control measures.”

However, they urge caution in drawing conclusions about China as a whole based on data from Beijing, saying that “the SARS-CoV-2 molecular epidemiological profile in one region of a vast and densely populated country cannot be extrapolated to the entire country”.

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COVID-19 Health India News

India launches first intranasal Covid vaccine

Expressing his elation at the event, Mandaviya said that over 65 per cent of vaccines supplied in the world are from India…reports Asian Lite News

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday unveiled the Covid-19 vaccine, iNNCOVACC in the presence of Union Minister of State (IC) for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh.

iNNCOVACC is the world’s first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule, and as a heterologous booster dose. It is developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) in collaboration with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a PSU under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

Expressing his elation at the event, Mandaviya said that over 65 per cent of vaccines supplied in the world are from India.

Congratulating the BBIL team and the Department of Biotech for bringing about the world’s first nasal vaccine, he stated that “being the world’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine, this marks a glorious tribute to the call for Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

The Union Health Minister added that India’s vaccine manufacturing and innovation capability is appreciated all over the world as it has made a mark in producing quality and affordable medicines.

Congratulating BBIL for innovating another vaccine in collaboration with BIRAC, Jitendra Singh said that “India has taken a lead in developing vaccines and medicines for diseases common in the developing world.”



He also stated that ZyCoV-D, the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans including children and adults 12 years and above, was also developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science & Technology under ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ through BIRAC.

iNCOVACC is a cost effective Covid-19 vaccine which does not require syringes, needles, alcohol wipes, bandage, etc, saving costs related to procurement, distribution, storage, and biomedical waste disposal, that is routinely required for injectable vaccines.

It utilises a vector-based platform, which can be easily updated with emerging variants leading to large scale production, within a few months. These rapid response timelines combined with the ability of cost effective and easy intranasal delivery, makes it an ideal vaccine to address future infectious diseases.

A rollout of iNCOVACC is expected to begin in private hospitals that have placed advance orders. Initial manufacturing capacity of several million doses per annum has been established, this can be scaled up to a billion doses as required. iNCOVACC is priced at Rs 325 per dose for large volume procurement by State Governments and Government of India.

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Business COVID-19 India News

First Covid, now layoffs: Tech professionals undergo tremendous stress

About 3,000 tech professionals are losing their jobs on an average daily in the month of January, including thousands in India…reports Asian Lite News

Amid the growing layoffs, there has been a surge in the number of patients coming from various companies — both office-goers and those working from home — with panic anxiety attacks and depression as they fear losing control over their immediate future plans, mental health experts said on Monday.

About 3,000 tech professionals are losing their jobs on an average daily in the month of January, including thousands in India.

According to health experts, the last 2-3 years of Covid lockdowns, deaths, and fear of re-infection, and now massive layoffs, have resulted in extreme stress for Indian professionals.

Dr Saumya Mudgal, Senior Consultant, Psychiatry, Max Hospital in Gurugram, told IANS that there has been a drastic increase in the number of patients coming from MNCs.

“These patients are usually presented with the issues of panic anxiety and panic disorder with agoraphobia and there is quite an increase in such patients. Some of them are already taking medications and the requirement of medication has gone up and the severity of symptoms has gone up,” Dr Mudgal told IANS.

According to her, there are a lot of people coming with fresh or recent onset symptoms of anxiety and adjustment issues pertaining to anxiety or mixed anxiety.

Layoffs and loss of employment are very stressful experiences for most people. It is a time filled with uncertainties, economic challenges and loss of control over your future.

According to Dr Rishi Gautam, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, The GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC, this can lead to significant impact on a professional’s mental health and cause anxiety, depressed mood, shock and grief.

“It affects sleep and appetite, increases risk of unhealthy consumption of drugs and alcohol, causes worsened irritability, loss of self-esteem, family discord etc,” Dr Gautam told IANS.

Dr Arti Anand, a senior clinical psychologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, said that the pandemic and massive layoffs both knocked out the working class without any warning.

“This leads to fear and stress. The way to deal with it is to be able to use your available resources, not to panic and stop thinking negatively about the future,” she advised.

Health experts said that to cope in these uncertain times is by maintaining supportive relationships with friends and family, exercising regularly and practicing mindfulness.

Keep a positive attitude and outlook. Stay away from generalising negative thoughts like “I will never have a job again or I will never enjoy my work again etc,” said Dr Gautam.

Divya Mohindroo, Founder, Embrace Imperfections and a counselling psychologist, told IANS that those impacted in the current layoffs need to deal with it practically, rather than emotionally.

“Start making a list of potential employers, research about available opportunities and companies, look for avenues to upskill and even diversify into other sectors, if required,” she advised.

“Approach employers while being mentally prepared to describe their situation while pitching their candidature. It is also important to network – with friends, ex-bosses and colleagues,” she said.

All professionals should share their work responsibilities with colleagues at work and family members at home, which will help them not only be accountable but also feel light about their life and tasks in hand,” Mohindroo noted.

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-Top News Asia News

92% population in Beijing to get Covid by January-end

People wearing masks walk on road in Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai/IANS)

The study estimated that the reproduction rate jumped from 1.04 on November 11 to 3.44 a week later – meaning that “one person with the virus could infect 3.44 others”….reports Asian Lite News

Around 92 per cent of the population in the Chinese capital of Beijing will have Covid by January 31, a new study published in peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine has revealed.

Nearly 76 per cent of people in Beijing had contracted Covid-19 as of December 22. It was expected to reach 92 per cent by January 31, according to researchers from the University of Hong Kong, reports South China Morning Post.

For the study, the researchers tracked the reproduction rate of Omicron variant BF.7 in Beijing in November and December, after China eased its zero-Covid policy. There was a surge in cases across the country after the policy changes.

The study estimated that the reproduction rate jumped from 1.04 on November 11 to 3.44 a week later – meaning that “one person with the virus could infect 3.44 others”.

Their modelling had shown an estimated peak of 1.03 million daily cases on December 11. “Surveillance programmes should be rapidly set up to monitor the spread and evolution of Sars-CoV-2 infections, and further work should be done to track the transmissibility, incidence and infection rate of the epidemic,” the researchers wrote.

The number of people with severe Covid-19 infections had peaked on January 5. The country reported about 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that 681 hospitalised patients died of respiratory failure, and 11,977 died of other diseases combined with a Covid infection.

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-Top News China

Is China fudging its Covid data?

A resident collects medicine at a fever clinic in Kaifu District of Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Dec. 20, 2022. Fever clinics have been set up in cities including Xi'an and Changsha to provide timely treatment to patients with COVID-19 symptoms. (Xinhua/Chen Zhenhai)

China’s abrupt pivot from Covid Zero in early December (2022) unleashed a surge of omicron infections and led to 59,938 virus-related deaths in the nation’s hospitals…reports Asian Lite News

The nearly 60,000 Covid-related deaths China reported for the first five weeks of its current outbreak, the largest the world has ever seen, may underestimate the true toll by hundreds of thousands of fatalities, experts were quoted as saying in a media report.

China’s abrupt pivot from Covid Zero in early December (2022) unleashed a surge of omicron infections and led to 59,938 virus-related deaths in the nation’s hospitals through January 12, Bloomberg news agency reported, citing the figures disclosed by the National Health Commission.

While the number swamps the few dozen deaths previously recorded in the official tally – which drew widespread criticism both at home and abroad, including from the World Health Organization (WHO) – experts say it’s still likely to be an underestimate given the enormous scale of the outbreak and the mortality rates seen at the height of omicron waves in other countries that initially pursued a Covid Zero strategy, the news agency reported.

“This reported number of Covid-19 deaths might be the tip of the iceberg,” Zuo-Feng Zhang, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public Health at University of California, Los Angeles was quoted by the news agency as saying.

While the figure is roughly in line with what Zhang estimated might be coming from the country’s hospitals, he said it’s only a fraction of the total Covid deaths across the country.

Using a report from the National School of Development at Peking University that found 64 per cent of the population was infected by mid-January, he estimated 900,000 people would have died in the previous five weeks based on a conservative 0.1 per cent case fatality rate. That means the official hospital death count is less than 7 per cent of the total mortality seen during the outbreak, the news agency reported.

The official toll translates to 1.17 deaths daily for every million people in the country over the course of five weeks, according to a Bloomberg analysis. That’s well below the average daily mortality rate seen in other countries that initially pursued Covid Zero or managed to contain the virus after relaxing their pandemic rules.

When omicron hit South Korea, daily deaths quickly climbed to nearly seven for every 1 million people. Australia and New Zealand saw mortality nearing or topping four per million a day during their first winters with omicron. Even Singapore, which had a well-planned and gradual shift away from its zero tolerance approach, had deaths peak at about two per million people daily.

“These figures would suggest that China is having a very mild wave, with very few deaths per case,” Louise Blair, head of vaccines and epidemiology at the London-based predictive health analytics firm Airfinity, was quoted by the news agency as saying. “It would be the lowest of any country/region abandoning a zero Covid policy.”

It could be that many of the country’s deaths occurred in nursing care facilities or at home, explaining some of the undercount, Blair said, as China’s latest disclosure only counted hospital deaths. Reports of overwhelmed crematoriums around the country suggest excess mortality is at a high level.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently spoke with Ma Xiaowei, the director of China’s National Health Commission, about the Covid-19 situation in the country. “WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation,” the United Nations’ health agency said in a statement.

Chinese officials have provided information to the WHO on a range of topics, including outpatient clinics, hospitalisations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to Covid-19 infection.

The WHO is currently analysing the information, which covers early December 2022 to January 12, 2023, and allows for a “better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China”.

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-Top News Asia News

Covid surge fear looms as China reopens borders

The move has been welcomed by many eager to reunite with families…reports Asian Lite News

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020.

Incoming travellers will no longer need to quarantine – marking a significant change in the country’s Covid policy as it battles a surge in cases, the BBC reported.

They will still require proof of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of travelling.

The move has been welcomed by many eager to reunite with families, the BBC reported.

In Hong Kong, 400,000 people are expected to travel into mainland China in the coming weeks with long queues for flights into cities including Beijing and Xiamen.

On Sunday, double decker coaches packed with travellers arrived at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to catch buses to the Guangdong province – among them were college students returning home, BBC reported.

The country’s reopening comes at the start of “chun yun”, the first period of Lunar New Year travel. Before the pandemic, it was the largest annual worldwide migration of people returning home to spend time with their family, BBC reported.

Two billion trips are expected to be made this Lunar New Year, double the number that travelled last year.

Li Hua, who travelled from the UK to China – where her family lives – for the festival said it had been “too long” since she had returned, “I’m so happy to be back, and breathe Chinese air. So happy, so happy”.

But there is concern from some that opening the borders will result in more transmission of Covid-19, BBC reported.

Global Covid surge fears loom

As China opened borders and resumed travel on Sunday, billions of local travellers are set to make overseas trips in the next few days, triggering Covid surge concerns in various countries as they put restrictions in place for flights coming from China.

Global Times reported that the downgrading management of Covid-19 officially took effect on Sunday and the inbound quarantine for international arrivals was cancelled.

“The order numbers for international flights recorded a year-on-year growth of 628 per cent, reaching the highest since March 2020, data from online travel agency LY.com showed,” said the report.

Among the surging orders, the numbers of inbound and outbound flights account for 48 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region became the top destination for inbound tickets on Sunday, with flight orders from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland rose 62 per cent from the previous day.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that international flights can directly land in Beijing without being redirected to other entry points.

Some 18 international flights, majorly from Hong Kong, were expected to arrive in Beijing on Sunday.

Shenzhen and Hong Kong will review the first phase of border reopening in a week. On the basis of consensus reached by both sides, arrangement of the second phase will be announced.

According to China’s Ministry of Transport, more than two billion passengers are expected to take trips over the next 40 days.

China on Saturday marked the first day of “chun yun”, the 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel.

European Union officials are “strongly” recommending that all member states insist on negative Covid tests from Chinese arrivals before they travel, reports BBC.

France, Spain and Italy have already introduced testing but others such as Germany had been monitoring the situation.

England, outside the EU, requires pre-flight testing on China arrivals.

The US has imposed mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China beginning January 5.

India has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

Air travellers to Canada from China must test negative for Covid-19 no more than two days before departure.

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-Top News USA

US mulls new Covid curbs on Chinese arrivals

Travelers wearing face masks are seen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Feb. 2, 2021. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua/IANS)

India is also stepping up measures for Chinese arrivals, but this was announced before Beijing said it would relax its strict border policy….reports Asian Lite News

The US is considering imposing new Covid restrictions on Chinese arrivals, after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month, media reports said.

American officials say this is due to a lack of transparency surrounding the virus in China, as cases surge, the BBC reported.

Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan – worried at importing Covid cases – have already outlined tighter measures for Chinese travellers, including negative tests.

Beijing has said Covid rules should be brought in on a “scientific” basis.

India is also stepping up measures for Chinese arrivals, but this was announced before Beijing said it would relax its strict border policy.

Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from January 8, the country’s immigration authorities have said.

Travel sites have reported a spike in traffic, leaving some countries fearful over the potential spread of Covid, BBC reported.

Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, subsequently accused Western countries and media of “hyping up” and “distorting China’s Covid policy adjustments”.

Residents queue up for nucleic acid testing at a COVID-19 test site in Dongcheng District of Beijing, capital of China, April 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin/IANS)

He said China believed all countries’ Covid responses should be “science-based and proportionate”, and should “not affect normal people-to-people exchange”.

Wang called for “joint efforts to ensure safe cross-border travel, maintain stability of global industrial supply chains and promote economic recovery and growth”, BBC reported.

The true toll of daily cases and deaths in China is unknown because officials have stopped releasing this data. Reports say hospitals are overwhelmed and elderly people are dying.

Last week, Beijing reported about 4,000 new Covid infections each day and few deaths.

Before the relaxation of travel rules, people were strongly discouraged from travelling abroad. The sale of outbound group and package travel was banned, according to marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International.

Within half an hour of Monday’s notice that China’s borders would reopen, data from travel site Trip.com – cited in Chinese media – showed searches for popular destinations had increased ten-fold on last year, BBC reported.

Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and South Korea were the most popular destinations.

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