COVID-19 Update: May 5, 2021

To date, more than 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, at a ratio of 19 million jabs given each day. In the US and the UK, more than half of the adults have received at least one dose. In Europe, the number of vaccinated people recently surpassed that of the infected. Moreover, new cases and hospitalizations are finally declining.
 
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a report indicating that the pandemic has determined the largest decrease in taxes on wages since the global financial crisis of 2008-09 across the OECD countries. According to the analysis, the fall is due to declining household incomes, as well as tax reforms linked to COVID-19 support measures.

In recent news from the United Nations (UN), a report developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that 7,000 health workers have died since the outbreak of the crisis, while 136 million health and social care workers are currently at risk of contracting COVID-19 through work.
 
The report indicates that International labour standards (ILS) can offer specific guidance on how to develop a more robust occupational safety and health environment, so to reduce the risk of virus transmission in the workplace.

A recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) analyzed the causes behind the surge in container freight rates worldwide. The document highlights that changes in consumption and shopping patterns triggered by the pandemic, capacity management by carriers at the beginning of the crisis, and ongoing COVID-19-related delays in transport connection points (such as ports) are the main drivers of these price increases.
 
The report includes suggestions on how to reduce the likelihood of a similar situation in the future with actions such as advancing trade facilitation reforms, improving maritime trade tracking and forecasting, and strengthening national competition authorities

On April 26, a press release published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) stated that the UNECE’s UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), in partnership with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), are developing and offering technical specifications on air cargo digitalization.
 
The agencies are developing technical specifications on the digitalization of multimodal transport data and document exchange to Member States and other stakeholders as international public goods, at a time when the pandemic is causing major disruptions on trade. According to UNECE, implementation of these digital trade tools and policies ‘could make an important contribution to countries’ socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.’ 

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) most recent epidemiology update reported that new COVID-19 cases rose for the ninth consecutive week. Increased caseloads are observed in South East Asia and Western Pacific regions, with India accounting for nearly 40% of the global new infections last week.
 
According to a press release published by the UN, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are mobilizing medical supplies and other resources to assist India’s emergency situation. Moreover, the WHO is helping India to scale-up additional hospital beds by procuring mobile field hospitals which could be set up in the most affected areas. 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published a report highlighting that the participation of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) in world trade has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The document points at LLDCs' export competitiveness being negatively affected by a lack of sea access, as well as the distance from international markets and high transit costs.
 
Trade-restrictive measures imposed by governments in response to the crisis have led to increased trading costs, delays for traded goods and additional technical barriers to trade, negatively impacting LLDC’s economies. Proposed WTO-sponsored initiatives, such as Aid for Trade, may help these countries to build the trade infrastructure necessary to facilitate commercial exchanges.

On April 27, Australia announced a travel ban for direct flights arriving from India. This measure is scheduled to remain in place until May 15.

New COVID-19 cases in Brazil have been slightly decreasing following late March’s peak, however fatalities are still ranging in the thousands every week. So far, the country reported a total of around 14 million cases and nearly 400,000 deaths. Containment measures vary from city to city, from mandatory face masks to localized lockdowns.

On April 26, the Chilean government announced that the country’s borders will remain closed throughout May. Chile’s COVID-19 cases are starting to fall, however most of the country is still experiencing restrictions on movement.

On April 30, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published its latest weekly surveillance report. Based on the data collected by the agency, the 14-day case notification rate for the EU/EEA was 396 per 100,000 population, decreasing for three weeks in a row. However, hospitalizations have been increasing in most EU/EEA countries, while the mortality rate has been stable for eight weeks.
 
According to a study conducted by the ECDC in collaboration with 7 EU countries, the three COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC), first identified in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), and Brazil (P.1) can determine higher risk for hospitalization and intensive care admission. “The findings underline the increased risk for severe disease associated with VOC, and further emphasise the necessity to rapidly reach high levels of vaccine coverage together with continued adherence to public health measures to reduce SARS-CoV-2 incidence and severe cases”, concludes the report.
 
According to a recent press release, the ECDC and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) agreed to a joint initiative aimed at strengthening the post-marketing surveillance of COVID-19 vaccines. The two agencies will conduct observational studies to monitor how these novel vaccines perform in real-life.
 
On April 27, the European Commission announced that EU countries will offer support to India via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Under the initiative, oxygen, medicine and equipment will be delivered to support the alarming epidemiological situation in India. The Commission indicated that further contributions will be expected by other Member States.
 
“Our Emergency Response Coordination Centre is facilitating the logistical arrangements and the EU will cover the brunt of the transport costs,” said in a statement Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management.

After peaking at the beginning of April, the epidemiological situation in France is showing signs of improvement. Restriction measures are also beginning to ease, with schools being allowed to reopen since April 26. However, new travel restrictions were introduced, with border controls being reinforced for arrivals from Brazil, India, South Africa and Chile.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Germany has recorded around 3.3 million cases and more than 83,000 deaths. Despite a reported decrease of new cases, the current national 7-day incidence of 155 cases per 100,000 population is still considered to be of ‘high risk’ by the German Government. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the incidence shows that there is still ongoing community transmission of COVID-19, particularly in households, day-care facilities for children and increasingly in schools, as well as in occupational settings.

Emerging from a month of strict containment measures, the majority of Italy’s regions finally moved into the low-risk “yellow” category on April 26. The hospitality sector is allowed to reopen to the public, while entertainment venues can operate at 50% capacity. To date, more than 19 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. Around 5.7 million people are now fully vaccinated.
 
On April 27, the Italian Parliament approved a € 222 billion EU-funded recovery plan. The funding is expected to promote Italy’s digital and ecological transitions, infrastructure modernization, research and development, and employment.

The country has been recording an average of 8,000 daily new infections in the past two weeks. The positivity rate is increasing, currently around 10%, while the reproduction value (Rt) remains stable slightly above 1. Since last week, non-essential shops are allowed to open. Moreover, outdoor seating areas at restaurants and cafés can be open between 12:00 and 6:00 pm.

After an initial increase in mid-April, new infections are now declining in Spain. However, according to the country’s health ministry, the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants is still above the threshold of ‘maximum risk’. Intensive care units (ICUs) occupancy rates by COVID-19 patients have been stable at around 20% of capacity.
 
According to Euractiv, the Spanish Government has started distributing the coronavirus recovery funds to the country’s autonomous regions. €2.1 billion have been distributed so far, with further €26 billion expected by the end of the year.

India continues reporting record numbers of daily new infections, bringing the total at more than 18 million cases. Overall deaths recently surpassed 200,000, with daily casualties topping more than 3,000 on April 29. 
 
In an attempt to ramp up vaccination rates, on April 28 all Indian adults were made eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, however shortages of doses have been reported. Lack of medical supplies and oxygen shortage are also contributing to the already difficult situation, although several countries around the world have pledged to send assistance.

In the last few days, several prefectures in Japan are reporting increasing positivity rates. In an attempt to curb new infections, the Government has declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and other populous prefectures, ordering hospitality and entertainment venues to close to the public.

After having endured a large spike of infections at the beginning of this year, the epidemiological situation in South Africa is currently stable. The country recently resumed its vaccination campaign with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, with healthcare workers designated as a priority group. According to Bloomberg, the country’s health ministry announced that it had secured enough doses to vaccinate 45 million people.

According to Reuters, South Korea announced on April 28 that it will offer some exemptions to mandatory quarantine measures for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The measure will be applied from May 5 and will allow vaccinated residents to avoid the two-weeks quarantine for people who have been in contact with a confirmed patient or have returned from overseas travel.
 
However, these measures will not apply to people coming from countries where the incidence of COVID-19 variants (such as the Brazilian and South African) is high, as well as to people who are vaccinated in foreign countries.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Turkey has recorded more than 4.6 million cases and nearly 40,000 deaths. The country is currently facing a third wave of new infections, however new cases have been decreasing in the last few days. Despite this, fatalities are still considerably higher than in previous waves.
 
On April 29, Turkey entered into a new lockdown, which is expected to last until May 17. Citizens are required to stay indoors except for essential reasons, and movement within the country is restricted. 

In the UK, weekly new cases and deaths have been falling for several weeks. Around 34 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 13 million are now fully vaccinated.
 
New research conducted by Public Health England (PHE) showed that one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine can reduce household transmission of the virus by up to 50%. Protection was seen from around 14 days after vaccination, with no distinction of age.
 
Since April 23, India has been added to the ‘red list’ of countries banned from entry to the UK. Nationals and residents are still allowed to enter the country; however, they will need to spend 10 days quarantine in a government-approved hotel. 

In the US, the 7-day average of new cases has been decreasing for nearly three weeks. Deaths are decreasing too, albeit at a smaller pace. A slight decrease in hospitalizations is also being reported, as well as a nearly 10% decrease in new hospital admissions.
 
According to a press release published by CNN, the number of fully vaccinated people in the US has surpassed those who are getting their first dose. However, according to experts interviewed by the network, this could be reflecting a lower demand for jabs, possibly due to ‘vaccine hesitancy’. 
 
A recent CDC assessment found that fully vaccinated adults 65 years and older were 94% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people of the same age who were not vaccinated. The data was collected on people who received one of the two mRNA-based vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna), and are the first real-world findings in the United States confirming previous clinical trial data showing the ability of these vaccines to prevent severe COVID-19 illness.

The information above is a review of actions the INC has compiled from government sources, international organizations and press media. This news article is not intended to be exhaustive and it does not reflect the opinions of the INC. While the publishers believe that all information contained in this publication was correct at the time of publishing, they can accept no liability for any inaccuracies that may appear or loss suffered directly or indirectly by any reader as a result of any advertisement, editorial, photographs or other materials published in this news article.