(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Shanghai’s Disney resort shut amid record daily local infections
China’s financial hub of Shanghai reported on Monday a record daily surge in local COVID-19 infections as authorities scrambled to test residents and rein in the Omicron variant, while closing its Disney resort until further notice.
Until recent weeks relatively unscathed by coronavirus, Shanghai reported 24 new domestically transmitted COVID cases with confirmed symptoms for Sunday and 734 local asymptomatic infections, official data showed on Monday.
Hong Kong to ease strict COVID curbs
Hong Kong plans to relax some anti-COVID-19 measures next month, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries, reducing quarantine and reopening schools, after a backlash from business and residents.
The moves, announced on Monday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, come as many countries shift to trying to live with the virus rather than trying to keep it out.
India considers widening COVID booster effort to all adults
India is considering making all adults eligible for booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as infections grow in some countries and some Indians find it hard to travel abroad without a third dose.
Only frontline workers and those older than 60 are currently allowed to take booster doses in India, whether free in government centres or paid for in private hospitals.
Indonesia scraps quarantine for overseas arrivals
Indonesia has removed its quarantine requirement for all arrivals from overseas, its tourism minister said on Monday, responding to improvements in its containment of the coronavirus.
The decision, effective immediately, follows the successful implementation of a quarantine waiver this month for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19 on the islands of Bali, Batam, and Bintan, minister Sandiaga Uno told a news conference.
AstraZeneca COVID drug neutralises Omicron sub-variants in lab study
AstraZeneca said on Monday its antibody-based cocktail to prevent and treat COVID-19 retained neutralising activity against Omicron coronavirus variants, including the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant, in an independent lab study.
This is the first data looking at the impact of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld treatment on “cousins” of the Omicron variant following a recent global spike in cases. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said in December that another lab study found that Evusheld retained neutralising activity against Omicron.
South Korea to buy 10 million doses of SK Bioscience’s COVID vaccine
South Korea has reached a deal to buy 10 million doses of the country’s first experimental coronavirus vaccine, developed by SK Bioscience, authorities said on Monday.
Parents up in arms against an Ontario school board’s move to keep masks on
As students in Canada’s most populous province return to mask-free classes after two years on Monday, one Ontario school board is facing backlash for defying the province’s decision to drop masks, potentially setting the stage for a clash on a contentious pandemic issue.
The mask mandate and other pandemic measures have become a lightning rod in Canada for an anti-government movement, sparking a three-week protest in capital Ottawa last month.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes)
