Coronavirus digest: Melbourne cluster grows to eight cases

A new COVID-19 cluster linked to a quarantine hotel in Melbourne grew to eight cases on Thursday. Fears of community transmission from a worker in the Holiday Inn were raised. The remaining guests were transferred to another hotel, and more than 100 staff have been placed in isolation. 

Health authorities in the Australian state of Victoria ramped up contact tracing and mass testing of residents, with more than 22,500 people being tested. Victoria, the state hardest hit by the virus, is currently hosting the Australian Open.

Here is a round-up of updates from around the world:

Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended Germany’s nationwide lockdown extension until March 7. The German government and state leaders agreed to maintain lockdown measures beyond February 14, but with the option of "gradually" opening schools and daycare centers as well as hairdressers.

"We have to be extremely cautious that we don't get into this exponential growth spiral again," Merkel told lawmakers in the Bundestag, adding that the new coronavirus mutations "may destroy any success" already achieved by the monthslong lockdown.

The chancellor also defended the use of infection rates to determine when it is safe to ease the lockdown measures.

"I really support the fact that when it comes to further openings and reopenings we've decided on the basis of these new mutations, not to give dates, but to give infection rates," she said.

German Interior Minister Seehofer said the government will ban travel from Czech border regions as well as Austria's Tyrol over a troubling surge in infections of more contagious coronavirus variants.

"The states of Bavaria and Saxony today asked the government to class Tyrol and the border regions of the Czech Republic as virus mutation areas, and to implement border controls," Seehofer told the Munich-based Sueddeutsche newspaper.

"That has been agreed with the (German) chancellor and the vice-chancellor," he said, adding that the new curbs will begin on Sunday.

Germany has logged over 10,200 new daily cases, according to data released on Thursday by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. The number of new cases was higher compared to Wednesday's figures, which saw over 8,000 new cases. With over 650 deaths reported on Thursday, the total death toll has reached 63,635.

Portugal detected its first two cases of the new Brazilian variant of coronavirus. Both cases were detected in the Lisbon area and had already been reported to health authorities by Unilabs, a private diagnostics lab. 

Flights between Portugal and Brazil had been suspended in order to contain the spread of the new variant, with only humanitarian and repatriation flights being allowed. 

The Brazilian variant consists of some characteristics similar to the British and South African variants, both of which were present in Portugal. 

In the UK, Heathrow Airport lost 15,000 to 20,000 jobs over the last year, according to the airport's CEO. He voiced concerns that Britain's busiest airport and the aviation industry as a whole could suffer more without government intervention.

"Unless we see some recovery plan from the government and some support for the aviation sector financially, then I am afraid that more jobs are at risk," airport CEO John Holland-Kaye told Sky News.

The number of passengers plunged 89% in January compared to the same month last year. Britain is implementing tighter border controls in a bid to prevent new virus variants from entering.

Americas

President Juan Orlando Hernandez requested the World Health Organization (WHO) to make Honduras a priority for delivering vaccine doses, citing the devastating effects of two hurricanes Eta and Iota. 

The country is experiencing high levels of poverty and damages due to the two natural disasters. 

So far, Honduras has secured 1.4 million AstraZeneca vaccines. It has also sent requests to Russia and China for the vaccines. Hernandez urged the delivery of the vaccines through the COVAX scheme, which aims to secure access for poorer countries.

Asia

Singapore Airlines resumed flights on Thursday with full sets of vaccinated crew members. Pilots and cabin crew of three international flights to Jakarta, Bangkok, and Phnom Penh had received doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. 

The airline said these were among the first international flights in the world to have a fully vaccinated crew. Around 90% of its workers have signed up for vaccination, and about 85% of those have received the first dose already. The government has also urged workers to sign up for the inoculation program.

Malaysia is extending its free coronavirus vaccination campaign to all foreign residents, refugees and undocumented migrants. "A safe environment free from COVID-19 can only be achieved when as many Malaysian residents as possible are immunized," the government committee on vaccine supply said in a statement. 

The Southeast Asian country aims to inoculate at least 80% of its 32 million population this year. Malaysia is expected to begin the vaccine rollout at the end of February.

Global

Pharmaceutical company Merck and Co Ltd said it was in talks with governments and companies to potentially help with the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines that have already been authorized. 

"Beyond our own candidates, we are actively involved in discussions with governments, public health agencies, and other industry colleagues to identify the areas of pandemic response where we can play a role, including potential support for the production of authorized vaccines," said a company spokesperson. 

tg,mvb/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)