COVID-19 WRAP | Covid-19: 3,118 cases and 110 deaths recorded in SA in 24 hours

February 23 2022 - 19:37

Covid-19: 3,118 cases and 110 deaths recorded in SA in 24 hours

There were 3,118 new Covid-19 cases and 110 deaths recorded in SA in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday.

The institute said in its daily statistical release that the majority of the new cases were in Gauteng (1,114), followed by the Western Cape (658) and KwaZulu-Natal (463). This brings to 3,665,149 the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases across SA since the outbreak of the pandemic nearly two years ago.

The NICD also reported that, using health department data, six of the 110 deaths were in the past 24 to 48 hours. The balance were as a result of an ongoing audit.

February 23 2022 - 13:59

Ugandans could face fines, jail for refusing jab under proposed law

Uganda plans to impose fines on people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who fail to pay could be sent to prison under a new public health law which lawmakers are considering, its parliament says.

Though the east African country started administering Covid-19 jabs nearly a year ago, only about 16-million jabs have been administered in a population of 45-million, with officials blaming widespread reluctance for the low coverage.

Parliament’s house health committee has begun scrutinising the Public Health (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory.

February 23 2022 - 10:53

No Covid-19 vaccine so DUT students spend the night on the pavement

A group of Durban University of Technology (DUT) students slept on the pavement outside the Berea campus on Tuesday night as they are yet to be allocated residences because they are not vaccinated against Covid-19.

The students blame the university’s vaccination policy which prevents them being allocated residences while they struggle to attend online classes in rural areas because of network and data issues.

The DUT council issued a directive on vaccinations through its “policy choices on vaccination of staff and students” in December.

Under the policy, an individual must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or continue with online activities and services. That would mean the individual produce a negative PCR test not older than 48 hours at their own cost every time they need to go on campus. Should a student fail to do either, they won’t be allowed entry to any of the campuses.

February 23 2022 - 08:45

Munich Re 2021 net profit more than doubles in pandemic bounceback

 German reinsurance group Munich Re said on Wednesday that net profit more than doubled in 2021 as it bounced back from the coronavirus pandemic, despite big claims from natural disasters.

Net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.28 billion) compares with 1.2 billion euros a year earlier. The figure is in line with analyst expectations but slightly exceeded the company's own target of 2.8 billion euros. 

Reuters

February 23 2022 - 07:15

In Hong Kong’s all-out fight against Covid, Singapore is winning

In pursuit of a tough Covid Zero strategy to fight its worst ever coronavirus outbreak, Hong Kong is ceding ground to Singapore, a rival Asian financial and transport hub that’s been easing pandemic-linked restrictions to get its economy back on track.

Key data compiled by Bloomberg Economics economists Tamara Mast Henderson and Eric Zhu show that some businesses, weary of stringent quarantine rules and the inability to travel freely, have been shifting to Singapore. The analysts have cut their economic growth forecast for Hong Kong by 0.6 percentage point to 1.4% this year, and expect Singapore’s gross domestic product to grow 4.7%.

While both the governments followed a Covid Zero strategy until recently, Singapore is now transitioning to living with the virus. On the other hand, Hong Kong is doubling down on strict social-distancing rules -- a policy that some residents and business groups have criticized as being futile in the face of omicron’s increased transmissibility.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore experienced sharp economic contractions in 2020, followed by rebounds in 2021, but overall Singapore has pulled ahead on growth, Henderson and Zhu say. Looking ahead, Bloomberg Economics expects substantial damage to Hong Kong’s economy this year, even if there is a policy rethink about its zero-Covid strategy.

Hong Kong has leaned more heavily on restricting activity. Singapore has emphasized vaccinations. Hong Kong requires 14 days of quarantine in a designated hotel for visitors outside of China. Singapore, on the other hand, has established quarantine-free travel lanes with numerous countries. About 70% of Hong Kong’s population have taken two doses of a vaccine, versus 91% in Singapore, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In both Hong Kong and Singapore, Covid fatalities are far below the global average, and the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997 has had greater success with about 3 deaths per 100,000, versus Singapore’s 15. But three years into the pandemic, patience with restrictions is wearing thin across the world, and more so with people in the two Asian financial hubs trapped within tight city limits, Henderson and Zhu say.

Bank deposits show the clearest sign of a shift. Deposit growth in Hong Kong has roughly halved in the last three years, dropping to an average of 4.3% year on year from 9.1% in the prior three years. Singapore’s deposit growth grew on average 7.3% between 2019 and 2021, about double the pace in the previous three years, according to data from the cities’ monetary authorities.

Foreign currency deposits in Singapore grew at an even faster pace: 82.7% year on year between January 2019 and June 2021.

Both cities have seen similar impact on commercial and retail rents due to the pandemic, but Hong Kong was experiencing a higher vacancy rate, reaching 10.6% in late 2021, the highest in at least 15 years. Singapore’s vacancy rate reached a four-year high of 6.3% in the third quarter of 2021, the most recent period for which there’s data, according to statistics provided by Colliers International and Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Labor markets have tightened in both cities since the pandemic, with some firms relocating staff from Hong Kong, at least temporarily. In the financial, insurance and professional services sectors, growth is accelerating in Singapore, but slowing in Hong Kong.

But Henderson and Zhu also point out that Singapore’s capacity to absorb a material exodus of Hong Kong’s professionals is more limited as the government continues to tighten requirements for foreign hires in terms of pay and credentials.

Few are venturing to Hong Kong these days due to flight bans and hotel quarantines. Arrivals have dropped to a negligible number after they started slumping 40% in the second half of 2019 following months of pro-democracy protests that impeded access. While Singapore’s visitor levels have also suffered, arrivals are picking up again as the city reopens. 

Bloomberg

February 23 2022 - 06:30

Hong Kong to enforce mass Covid-19 testing amid surge

Hong Kong will roll out compulsory testing for Covid-19 starting in mid-March for its 7.4 million residents, leader Carrie Lam said, as university researchers predicted new infections could peak at a staggering 180,000 a day next month.

February 23 2022 - 06:00

Vaccine mandates: it’s not all about you, Makhanda Against Mandates

Rhodes University has roped in internationally renowned clinical epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim to help defend its mandatory vaccination policy.

This comes in the wake of an application to the Makhanda high court by a group of individuals, including staff and two students, who are seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the institution from implementing its vaccine mandate.

Calling themselves Makhanda Against Mandates, the group has also launched a separate review application, asking the court to declare the policy unconstitutional and set it aside.