Total Covid-19 cases
View charts and mapsConfirmed
58,039,911Deaths
1,372,537Hong Kong investigates dance studios over new outbreak
Hong Kong's government on Sunday ordered compulsory testing for Covid-19 for any person who had visited any of 14 dance studios and clubs.
Authorities invoked the mandatory test provisions of its Covid-19 legislation to track down potential infections from an outbreak believed to have originated in dance studios between November 1 and 21.
“The local epidemic situation is worsening rapidly,” a Food and Health Bureau statement said on Sunday. “The number of confirmed cases of a cluster related to dancing activities and dancing venues continued to increase significantly in the past few days.”
The dance clubs and studios are mainly located on Hong Kong Island and in the Kowloon area.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection reported 68 new cases of coronavirus disease on Sunday, the highest daily total since June. The Chinese city of 7.5m people has recorded 224 new cases in the past two weeks.
Delta casts doubt on NY-London air corridor
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Philip Georgiadis and Peggy Hollinger
Delta Air Lines has cast doubt on hopes of opening an air corridor on the lucrative route between New York and London, saying it would be easier to relaunch transatlantic flights to “just about any” other European capital.
The route has been among the busiest and most profitable for carriers including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, and is a priority for US airlines working to open up such corridors, which could exempt passengers from quarantining on arrival.
But Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive, told the Financial Times that it would be easier to open such a corridor to almost any other European hub than London.
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Greece to reopen economy ‘with great caution’
Greece reported 1,498 new coronavirus cases on Sunday — one of the highest daily totals on record — as the country's investment minister cautioned against reopening the economy too quickly.
All but 22 were locally transmitted, the national health body known as EODY said.
“We will open the economy with great caution,” development and investment minister Adonis Georgiadis said on Sunday in a television interview with the Piraeus-based Skai TV.
It is expected that some sectors related to Christmas will be reopened, such as toy stores.
Mr Georgiadis said shops could only reopen under strict conditions, such as the wearing of masks, social distancing and capacity limits. He urged retailers to adopt an online ordering and goods pick-up system to minimise human contact.
Greece has recorded 91,619 cases since the pandemic began, EODY reported.
G20 leaders pledge global access to vaccines
Chris Giles
Leaders of the Group of 20 nations pledged to “spare no effort” to ensure cheap, global access to Covid-19 vaccines, even as they failed to make specific commitments on the distribution of early doses.
After a virtual G20 summit of the world’s advanced economies hosted by Saudi Arabia, leaders said they fully supported collaborative efforts to purchase and distribute coronavirus vaccines even though the US has so far declined to join the World Health Organisation’s flagship vaccine distribution scheme, Covax.
G20 nations have bought up almost all of the available doses of the two most promising Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership. The companies were the first to release data from phase 3 clinical trials and both shots have demonstrated an efficacy rate of more than 94 per cent.
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NZ on alert as incoming passengers test positive
Higher than usual numbers of arrivals to New Zealand are testing positive for coronavirus, raising fears of new outbreaks as Christmas and New Year approach, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.
Nine passengers from France, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, US, UK, Bangladesh, Spain and Italy have been quarantined in recent days after Covid-19 tests.
“The varied origins of these cases is a clear reminder that as Covid-19 continues to batter countries and jurisdictions around the globe, mandatory isolation and testing will continue to be of critical importance,” the ministry said in a statement.
The country would be on high alert as more New Zealanders return home before the holiday period.
Toronto to enter lockdown after record high new cases
People with and without masks walk past the Hudson’s Bay flagship store in Toronto’s Queen Street
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, ordered a lockdown on metropolitan Toronto from Monday after a record high number of new coronavirus cases were reported at the weekend.
The province recorded 1,534 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, following a record 1,588 on Saturday, prompting officials to impose a lockdown on Canada’s largest city.
Of the total, about 460 were reported in Toronto, 490 in Peel Region, and 130 in York Region, according to provincial health minister Christine Elliott.
From Monday, all outdoor dining and patios closed will be shut in Toronto as well as neighbouring Peel.
“Take-out, drive-thru and delivery options remain available and are strongly encouraged to support local businesses,” the city said in a statement.
Toronto mayor John Tory urged city residents to follow the health guidelines as the city closed many stores. Malls were shut, except for essential businesses. Large retailers with a grocery section can remain open at 50 per cent capacity.
All hair salons, barber shops, nail salons and tattoo parlours, indoor gyms and recreational programmes are suspended.
“Residents are asked to stay home, except for essential trips for groceries, health care, child care, school and work,” the Toronto city statement said.
Canada has reported more than 326,000 cases since the pandemic began, with more than 11,400 fatalities. Of those, Ontario accounted for about 104,000 cases and 3,500 deaths.
Health officials warned of a heightened threat to the country as the holiday season approached.
“Both community transmission and outbreaks are contributing to Covid-19 spread in Canada, including spread to high risk populations and settings,” Theresa Tam, the country’s chief medical officer, said on Sunday.
“Our best protection, now and into the holiday season, is to limit errands and outings to the essentials, keep in-person social activities to our existing household and strictly and consistently maintain public health practices,” she added.
Only 32% support UK’s handling of pandemic, poll indicates
Just 32 per cent of British adults approve of their government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the same level as a fortnight ago despite hopes over a vaccine, according to a new survey.
However, the percentage disapproving has fallen to 47 per cent from 51 per cent two weeks ago.
The Opinium Research survey found that 66 per cent of respondents said they would be likely to take a vaccine if it is free, available and the government recommended such a course. Only 24 per cent said they would not be vaccinated.
However, if the vaccine is not free of charge, 58 per cent said they would be vaccinated, while 31 per cent said they would be unlikely to do so.
Compulsory vaccination was supported by 42 per cent of respondents, the poll found. Almost two thirds, 64 per cent, supported a ban on the posting of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories online.
Roughly half of UK adults, 51 per cent, said they were worried that a vaccine might not be safe, while 47 per cent doubted its efficacy and 57 per cent were concerned about possible side effects.
Opinium found that 54 per cent of UK adults would prefer Covid-19 restrictions to be in place over Christmas if it means that fewer restrictions would be required in January.
The pollsters surveyed 2,001 adults on November 19-20.
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Despite the pandemic, American consumers are forecast to open their wallets this holiday shopping season — even if they will be doing much of it online. Over the 75-day period leading up to Christmas, retail sales are predicted to increase 2.4 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.
The pandemic’s boost to the digital, automation and technology industries is set to exacerbate gender inequality, as new jobs are being taken largely by men. Nearly 800,000 new positions have been created in programming and related services across the EU, US, UK, Japan and Australia this year, FT analysis shows.
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, has sunk into a second recession in less than five years, battered by the oil price crash brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product contracted 3.6 per cent in the three months to September 30, after shrinking 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter, official data show.
Singapore and Hong Kong suspended plans to launch a “travel bubble” from Sunday that would have enabled passengers between the two Asian cities to skip quarantine under certain circumstances. The plan was postponed for two weeks after Hong Kong reported 43 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday.
Technicians work at the Regeneron laboratory in Tarrytown, New York
Regeneron has received US emergency approval for its antibody treatment, which was hailed by president Donald Trump as a cure for his Covid-19. The Food and Drug Administration greenlighted the antibody cocktail for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 patients at high risk of developing severe symptoms.
NetJets, a private jet operator owned by Berkshire Hathaway, is ordering more aircraft next year as private aviation rebounds faster than commercial airlines. Columbus, Ohio-based NetJets said it would order 40-50 planes in 2021. The company had earlier cut its order to about 30 this year, down from 60 in 2019.
UK technology group Sage’s reliance on software subscriptions has grown as it works to boost overall recurring revenue, which it expects to rise by up to 5 per cent over the next financial year. The growth was tempered by a 25.8 per cent fall in other sales. Total revenue dipped 1.7 per cent to £1.9bn.
Wish, the ecommerce platform that sells cheap Asia-made goods to the masses, said it had revenue of $1.7bn in the first nine months of 2020, up nearly a third on last year, as it prepares for an initial public offering in New York. Wish said the coronavirus pandemic had affected business, disrupting supply chains from China.
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