Two Hong Kong residents are in serious condition after receiving China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines, the Hong Kong government announced on Sunday, after a 55-year-old woman with chronic illness died four days after receiving her vaccine—the second related death in the city.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
On Sunday, 8,100 people were vaccinated with Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine, which was 82.3 percent of the daily vaccination appointments, according to the city’s Health Department.
Wyoming Governor Removes Statewide Mask Requirement, Except for Schools
Wyoming’s governor on March 8 announced he’s removing his statewide mask requirement because of improving COVID-19-related metrics.Wyoming, like most states in the country, has seen a declining number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. At the same time, more residents are getting COVID-19 vaccines.
“I thank the people of Wyoming for their commitment to keeping one another safe throughout this pandemic,” Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, said in a statement. “It is through their efforts that we have kept our schools and businesses operating and our economy moving forward. I ask all Wyoming citizens to continue to take personal responsibility for their actions and stay diligent as we look ahead to the warmer months and to the safe resumption of our traditional spring and summer activities.”
Fully Vaccinated People Do Not Need Masks or Physical Distancing
People who are fully vaccinated can now gather indoors without masks or social distancing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its new guidance on Monday.People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after getting the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
They also do not need to be tested or quarantined if they are asymptomatic following exposure to individuals confirmed or suspected of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.
New US Cases Fell 12% Last Week
The United States reported a 12 percent decline in new cases of the CCP virus last week, according to a Reuters analysis of state, county, and CDC data.New infections have dropped for eight weeks in a row, averaging 60,000 new COVID-19 cases, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, per day for the week ended March 7. Deaths linked to COVID-19 fell 18 percent last week to 11,800, the lowest since late November and averaging 1,686 per day.
New York City Public High School Students to Return to Classroom on March 22: Mayor
Public high schools in New York City will welcome students back for in-person instruction on March 22, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday, the latest step by the United States’ largest school system to open classrooms shuttered due to COVID-19.“We have all the pieces we need to bring high school back and bring it back strong, and, of course, bring it back safely,” de Blasio told a news conference. “We are bringing our schools back fully in September, period.”
UK’s Johnson Warns of Risks of Quicker Lockdown Exit
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the CCP virus still poses a significant risk and a quicker exit from the lockdown restrictions than currently planned may exacerbate it.Johnson said “the curve is going up again” in other European countries. He warned that every time infection rates rise on the continent, “it’s not too long after that that we see an increase in this country as well.”
Restrictions Easing in Some Provinces as US Issues Advice to Those Fully Vaccinated
Restrictions meant to stem the spread of COVID-19 were easing in some parts of Canada on Monday, while U.S. public health officials signaled a partial return to normal is possible for anyone who has been fully vaccinated against the virus.A new report from scientists advising the Ontario government says vaccinations in long-term care homes have helped cut infections by 89 percent and deaths by 96 percent in the eight weeks since inoculations began in December.
UK Students Back to School After 2-Month Closure
British children returned to school on Monday after a two-month closure, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying he aimed to get the country “ moving closer to a sense of normality.”As part of the plan, millions of high school and college students coming back to UK classrooms will be tested for the first few weeks. Authorities want to quickly detect and isolate asymptomatic cases in order to avoid sending entire schools home. Britain has had Europe’s deadliest outbreak, with nearly 125,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Greece Eyes Lifting Curbs in Retail Before End-March, Tourism in May
Greece plans to lift CCP virus restrictions in the retail sector and open schools before the end of March and begin to re-open the tourism sector in May ahead of the vital summer season, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.How the sector fares will be crucial for the country which is slowly emerging from a decade-long debt crisis but which has seen its economy shrink sharply due to COVID-19 restrictions.
White House Calls on Texas Governor to Accept Federal Funds for Testing of Illegal Immigrants
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott “declined” an offer of federal funds to pay for CCP virus testing for illegal immigrants, adding that the administration hopes “he’ll reconsider.”Federal officials have asked Texas to assist with this issue, Abbott said Thursday, but he declined, saying testing and quarantining migrants is the federal government’s job.
“Instead of doing their job, the Biden administration suggested it did not have the sufficient resources and, remarkably, asked Texas to assist them in aiding their illegal immigration program. Texas refused,” Abbott said in a statement.
Hungary Closes Stores, Schools to Curb Surge Due to Variants
Hungarians on Monday awoke to a new round of strict lockdown measures aimed at slowing a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths that are among the worst in the world.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that the strain on the country’s hospitals will soon surpass any other period in Hungary since the pandemic began, and that failing to impose harsher restrictions now would result in a “tragedy.”
Syria’s Assad and His Wife Test Positive
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma have tested positive for COVID-19 after showing minor symptoms, his office said on Monday.The Syrian leader and his spouse, who announced her recovery from breast cancer in 2019, were both in good health and would keep working while in isolation at home, the statement said.
2 Dead, 2 in ICU After 83,400 Receive Sinovac Vaccines in Hong Kong
Two Hong Kong residents are in serious condition after receiving China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines, the Hong Kong government announced on Sunday, after a 55-year-old woman with chronic illness died four days after receiving her vaccine—the second related death in the city.On Sunday, 8,100 people were vaccinated with Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine, which was 82.3 percent of the daily vaccination appointments, according to the city’s Health Department.
Zachary Stieber, Meiling Lee, Alexander Zhang, Nicole Hao, Tom Ozimek, Reuters, The Canadian Press, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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