W.H.O team visits disease centre; Japan extends emergency
TOKYO: Japan’s government approved a month-long extension of its coronavirus state of emergency on Tuesday, less than six months before the pandemic postponed Olympic Games open in Tokyo.
“We have decided to extend the state of emergency until March 7th,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a meeting of the task force guiding the government’s pandemic policy.
The extension will apply to 10 of the 11 areas currently under the measure, including greater Tokyo, which had been due to end on February 7.
Probe team visits animal disease centre in Wuhan
World Health Organization experts visited an animal disease centre in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday as part of their investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Team member Peter Daszak told reporters later they had “excellent facilities, very informative meeting”, and he tweeted the team met with staff in charge of the health of livestock in Hubei province, toured laboratories and had an “in-depth” discussion along with questions and answers.
Meanwhile, Chinese police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal group that was manufacturing and selling fake Covid-19 vaccines, including to other countries.
Police in Beijing and in
Jiangsu and Shandong provinces broke up the group led by a suspect surnamed Kong that was producing the fake vaccines, which consisted of a simple saline solution, the official Xinhua reported. The vaccines were sold in China and to other countries, although it was unclear which ones.
Weather deals a double whammy in US, Australia
In the US, a massive snowstorm has shut down most of New York City and all vaccination appointments will be cancelled on Monday and Tuesday.
An out-of-control wildfire burning northeast of the Australian west coast city of Perth has destroyed an estimated 30 homes and was threatening more Tuesday, with many locals across the region told it is too late to leave. The news comes as Perth entered its second full day of a five-day lockdown after a security guard at a quarantine hotel tested positive for Covid-19.
‘Russian vaccine 92% effective in late trial’
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine was 91.6% effective in preventing people from developing Covid-19, according to peer-reviewed results from its late-stage clinical trial published in The Lancent international medical journal on Tuesday. Scientists said the Phase III trial results meant the world had another effective weapon to fight the deadly pandemic and justified to some extent Moscow’s decision to roll it out before final data was out.