WHO sees 2.2 million Europe deaths by March

[GENEVA] Deaths in Europe from Covid-19 will reach 2.2 million by March based on current trends, the World Health Organization warned, pushing for more vaccinations. European Union officials are trying to agree on how to manage vaccine rollouts.

Meanwhile, Germany's top health official reiterated that the country can't rule out any measures to contain the fourth wave, and France's prime minister has tested positive. The White House's coronavirus response coordinator said the US would skirt the extreme measures being imposed in parts of Europe. In Indonesia, half of the population has now received at least one dose, and the country posted its lowest number of cases since April 2020.

Premier Eduard Heger said he's "intensely" considering mirroring steps taken in neighboring Austria. The three-party coalition late on Monday agreed in principle to tighten the restrictions, but needs to finalize the details, the SITA news service reported on Tuesday.

Separately, the Czech government is considering mandatory vaccination for people over age 60, as well as health-care and social-care workers, the outgoing prime minister, Andrej Babis, said. The government is waiting for an opinion from the health ministry due next week, Babis said.

Europe Seeks Common Stance (5:49 p.m. HK) European Union countries pushed for an agreement on how long vaccinations protect people and how to manage booster shots as they try to counter the pandemic's fourth wave and safeguard free travel.

"We need to agree on a common rule for when vaccines expire, and when the booster should be administered," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told reporters Tuesday as European affairs ministers met in Brussels. "That can't be different in Luxembourg to how it is in Greece or in Germany or in France. That's totally against the interests of European citizens." Austria Lockdown May Cost $4 Billion (5:42 p.m. HK) Austria's latest efforts to curb the pandemic may cost as much as 1.2 billion euros ($1.35 billion) a week and force some 400,000 workers onto a government-subsidized job program.

Government officials said they're assessing the fallout after the 380-billion-euro economy becoming the first country in western Europe to reimpose lockdown measures. French Prime Minister Tests Positive (4:10 p.m. HK) French Prime Minister Jean Castex tested positive for Covid-19 as a new wave of cases spreads across Europe. Castex will be isolating for 10 days, his office said in a statement.

Although France hasn't put new restrictions in place like Austria and Germany, the latest wave is hitting the country "at a blazing speed," government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Sunday. President Emmanuel Macron's government is reinforcing health-pass checks in enclosed areas and this week will discuss opening up its booster-shot campaign to more adults, he said.

Italy Shortens Recommended Booster Timing (4:05 p.m. HK) Italy will now recommend booster shots after five months instead of six, the country's health minister, Roberto Speranza, said on Facebook Monday evening. This week the government may also consider regional leaders' proposals to impose fewer restrictions on vaccinated people.

Germany Can't Rule Out Lockdown: Spahn (2:33 p.m. HK) German health minister Jens Spahn reiterated that the country couldn't rule out any measures, including lockdown, amid a spike in Covid cases Chancellor Angela Merkel has called worse than anything Germany has experienced so far. Some regions are in a "very, very dramatic" situation, Spahn told DLF Radio in an interview. Merkel told officials from her CDU party Monday that hospitals would soon be overwhelmed unless the fourth wave of the virus is broken, according to a person familiar with her remarks. Goldman Sees More Curbs in Euro Economies (2:18 p.m. HK) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists predicted that the newest Covid surge will lead to "additional targeted restrictions" in the euro area's four biggest economies - but they expect blanket national lockdowns to be avoided.

That points to a hit to the euro-area economy of 0.2 percentage points in both the final quarter of this year and the first three months of 2022, economists said in a note to clients. The impact on Germany will be worse than that in Italy and Spain, they said.

Their downside scenario, with a repeat of last winter's lockdowns, sees a 1.4% cumulative decline in euro-area output. The note comes as Europe moves again toward restrictions to curb infections that threaten to overwhelm health systems.

Lam Addresses H.K.-China Border Reopening (12:17 p.m. HK) Hong Kong's border with China won't fully reopen before a December 19 vote on the local legislature, the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a briefing. Hong Kong and Chinese government representatives will meet in the mainland border city of Shenzhen on Thursday to further discuss a quarantine-free travel plan between the two sides, Lam added. Hong Kong and China are currently the last major Covid Zero holdouts, imposing tough restrictions on inbound travelers, and reopening the border with the mainland is a key priority for Lam's government. Singapore Health Chief Attending H.K. Summit (11:20 a.m. HK) Singapore's health minister Ong Ye Kung will attend the inaugural Asia Summit on Global Health in Hong Kong on Wednesday, according to a statement from the city-state's health ministry. Ong, who will be accompanied by senior health ministry officials, will meet with top Hong Kong authorities, including Chief Executive Carrie Lam, during the trip.

He will take part in a policy dialogue session with health ministers and senior health officials from the region, along with representatives from the World Health Organization, where public healthcare challenges during the pandemic and the future direction of public health policies will be discussed.

Singapore is seeing a slowdown in its virus cases, and recently further relaxed strict curbs that were put in place to prevent infections from overwhelming its healthcare system. However, ministers have cautioned against expecting any more major easing this year. Merck's Covid Pill Available in Philippines (10 a.m. HK) Merck's Covid-19 pill molnupiravir is now available for patients in the Philippines, Vice President Leni Robredo said. Under a deal, Ayala Corp.-controlled QualiMed Health Network will prescribe the medicine to patients referred by Robredo's office, which runs a telehealth project. Merck's pill can be used under a special permit issued to selected hospitals while local regulators are reviewing its application for emergency authorization, Food and Drug Administration head Eric Domingo said separately.

Thai Cases Drop to Near Five-Month Low (9:09 a.m. HK) Thailand on Tuesday reported 5,126 new cases, the country's lowest daily tally since June 30, ahead of a scheduled review of further virus curb easing. The Southeast Asian tourist hub's virus task force is set to meet this week to consider demand from business operators to allow night entertainment venues to reopen, after having been closed since April.

China Delegation Makes H.K. Site Inspections (8:28 a.m. HK) A delegation of Chinese health experts is conducting site inspections to review Hong Kong's Covid-19 measures, part of the city's bid to resume quarantine-free travel with the mainland.

The trip ends Tuesday and has so far included visits to local institutions and facilities related to anti-epidemic work, including a designated quarantine hotel, community testing center, healthcare facilities and container terminals, according to a government statement. The South China Morning Post reported earlier that Hong Kong might need to tighten Covid control rules at its international airport amid the bid to open the border, a major priority for authorities in the Asian financial hub. The measures would include a review of quarantine exemption arrangements for flight crew, the newspaper said. Singapore, Japan Talk Safe Travel Resumption (7:36 a.m. HK) Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong discussed the resumption of safe travel with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio during a Monday telephone call, according to the Southeast Asian nation's foreign ministry. Singapore has gradually reopened its borders to more than a dozen countries as the city-state works to reclaim its status as a hub for global travel. U.S. Will Skirt EU Lockdowns: Zients (6:55 a.m. HK) The U.S. isn't headed for lockdown measures like those imposed in some European countries seeing new case surges, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said.

Inoculations, boosters and therapeutics will "accelerate the path out of this pandemic," he said on a Monday conference call. "We can curb the spread of the virus without having to in any way shut down our economy." Austria, Germany and Belgium are among those that have reimposed measures on public places including workplaces and restaurants in a bid to curb an early winter wave of infections that's threatening to overwhelm hospitals. New York County's Mask Mandate (6:30 a.m. HK) Erie County in Western New York is implementing a mask mandate starting Tuesday, with coronavirus cases soaring in the region.

Masks will be required at all indoor public locations including bars, grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, and places of worship, according to the county health department. Western New York has the highest 7-day average rate of positive tests in the state at 9.79%, compared to 3.82% statewide, according to state data. Vaccines Wane Against Infections (6:02 a.m.) While Covid shots remain highly effective at keeping people alive and out of the hospital, new U.S. data adds more support to the argument that they're not preventing infections as much as they once did. Unvaccinated people were about five times more likely to test positive for the virus than the unvaccinated in the week starting Sept. 26, down from about 15 times less likely in May, according to the latest age-adjusted data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was updated Monday. Morgan Stanley Office on Hong Kong Test List (6 a.m. HK) Morgan Stanley Bank Asia Ltd.'s office at International Commerce Centre's level 37 was added to Hong Kong's so-called mandatory test list. People who spent time there between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 need to be tested by Wednesday. ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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