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☆ EV maker Lotus Tech to go public in the U.S. via deal with L Catterton SPAC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lotus Tech is the luxury electric vehicle maker division of sports car brand Group Lotus, which is in turn owned jointly by Chinese automaker Geely (GEELY.UL) and Malaysia's Etika Automotive. The unit is headquartered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and produces cars through a partnership with Geely. Lotus Tech's existing shareholders, including Geely, Etika and NIO Capital, an investment firm founded by the CEO of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc , will retain their interests in the company and own 89.7% of it following the deal, it said. The company plans to use the proceeds from the combination of the businesses for product innovation and to expand its global distribution network. "We expect the partnership to provide significant support as Lotus Tech expands globally, with promising brand collaboration and strategic partnership potential worldwide," Lotus Tech's Chief Executive Officer Feng Qingfeng said.

☆ WHO says Covid remains a global emergency but pandemic could near its end in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was hopeful that the world will transition out of the emergency phase of the pandemic this year. The World Health Organization on Monday said Covid-19 remains an global health emergency as the world enters the fourth year of the pandemic. The WHO decision comes after the U.S. earlier this month extended its public health emergency until April. Last month, the WHO chief said the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic is closer than ever before. "We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.

☆ Ronaldo's Saudi switch another symbol of Chinese decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Portuguese striker's Saudi Arabia switch following the cancellation of his Manchester United contract has highlighted a shift within Asian football that started before the COVID-19 pandemic and which continues to have a significant impact. With money pouring into clubs often owned by debt-fuelled property developers, the Chinese Super League (CSL) had been enticing an increasing number of leading players and coaches to the country since early last decade. The downturn in Chinese football has spared few. Two-time Asian champions Guangzhou FC, once Chinese football's dominant force, went into decline after their owners, developers China Evergrande, were forced to limit funding after the government restricted borrowing. With attention now squarely focused on the oil-funded riches on offer in a newly assertive Saudi Arabia, Chinese football's lustre has all but disappeared.

☆ Holiday trips within China surge after lifting of COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The number of people making trips inside China over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday surged 74% from last year after authorities scrapped COVID-19 curbs that had stifled travel for three years, media reported on Saturday. An estimated 226 million domestic trips were made by all means including plane during the holiday week that ended on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing government figures. That compares with about 130 million domestic trips during the holiday week last year, according to the transport ministry. In the last Lunar New Year holiday before the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019 in the central city of Wuhan, some 420 million trips were made internally. During the Lunar New Year holiday in 2019, a total of 12.53 million cross-border trips were made, the Xinhua news agency reported.

An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday raised doubts about shifting toward a yearly Covid booster for most adults and children, saying too many questions about the virus still remain unanswered. The FDA convened its Vaccine and Related Biology Products Advisory Committee to discuss how the Covid vaccines may change moving forward. On Monday, the agency published briefing documents proposing annual Covid shots that target the latest variants of the virus — an approach similar to the yearly flu shot. Some committee members said they would prefer to make multiple yearly meetings on the Covid vaccines the norm. In a unanimous vote, the committee recommended using the bivalent formula in all Covid vaccines moving forward, not just for booster shots.

☆ FDA advisors recommend replacing original Covid vaccine with bivalent omicron shots for all doses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisory committee on Thursday unanimously recommended replacing Pfizer and Moderna's original Covid vaccine used in the U.S. for everyone's first two immunizations with the new bivalent omicron shots. Instead, the drugmakers' bivalent omicron shots that target the omicron BA.5 subvariant as well as the original strain would be used for the entire vaccination series. Currently, Pfizer's and Moderna's omicron shots are only authorized as a booster, while the first two doses are still their old shots based on the original Covid strain. The FDA has proposed moving to a system that resembles how the agency updates and rolls out flu shots every year. The agency would select a Covid vaccine formulation in June to target the variant that is expected to dominate in the fall and winter.

☆ Updated Covid boosters cut the infection risk from XBB.1.5 subvariant by half, CDC finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Berkeley-Lovelace-Jr.Jpg | Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The updated Covid boosters reduce the risk of Covid infection from the predominant omicron subvariant by nearly half, according to early data published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings are “quite reassuring,” Dr. Brendan Jackson, the head of the CDC’s Covid response, said on a call with reporters Wednesday. As of last Wednesday, only about 15% of people in the U.S. had received an updated booster, according to CDC data. People who were vaccinated but had not received the updated booster were compared to those who got the updated booster in the previous two to three months. People who got the updated boosters are probably "much more likely to wear masks indoors or restrain their travel or not go to indoor restaurants," he said.

☆ Omicron booster shots provide some protection against mild illness from Covid XBB subvariants, CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The CDC study published Wednesday provides the first estimate of the omicron booster shots' real-world effectiveness against the XBB family of subvariants. Some scientists have warned the XBB subvariants could cause another Covid wave because they are so good at evading the antibodies that block infections. The study compared people who received the new booster with those who received between two and four doses of the original vaccine. People who only received the original shots generally got their last dose about 13 months ago. But the CDC study found that the omicron boosters provide about as much protection against the XBB family as they do against the BA.5 subvariant and its descendants such as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.

☆ They Poured Their Savings Into Homes That Were Never Built
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Isabelle Qian | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. Homeowners atop one of the unfinished apartment towers call for construction to fully resume.

☆ FDA proposes simplifying the Covid vaccine schedule, making it similar to the flu shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Berkeley-Lovelace-Jr.Jpg | Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Food and Drug Administration advisers will meet Thursday to discuss simplifying the Covid vaccination schedule, allowing most people to get the currently available booster, regardless of how many doses they had received before that. The FDA is proposing skipping over that primary series, meaning that most unvaccinated individuals could go ahead and get the latest booster shot if they decided to get a Covid vaccine. The FDA’s proposal, experts say, would greatly simplify the Covid vaccination schedule in the United States — aligning it more closely with the annual flu shot. In another similarity to the flu shot, the FDA is considering whether the Covid vaccine should be updated at least once a year, based on what strains are in circulation. Dr. Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said simplifying the Covid vaccine schedule makes sense.

☆ FDA says Covid vaccines will probably get an annual update but most people will likely need only one shot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In a briefing document published Monday, the FDA said the vaccines will probably need an annual update as the virus continues to evolve. Most people would receive one shot to restore their protection against the virus moving forward, according to the briefing document. The FDA released the road map ahead of a meeting of the agency's independent vaccine experts scheduled for Thursday. The proposed system for updating Covid vaccines resembles how the FDA selects flu shots every year. The agency said it could update and rollout the Covid vaccines without clinical data, which is also the case with the annual process to change the flu shot.

☆ NIH Faces GOP Scrutiny Over Handling of Covid-19 Pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

House Republicans plan to put the National Institutes of Health under the microscope, conducting investigations into its funding of research on viruses and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawmakers, now in charge of the House, said they aim to probe the NIH’s oversight of research that involves modifying viruses to identify potential threats to humans and develop ways to fight them. The Republicans also want to probe the agency’s links to an institute in Wuhan, China, that conducts the pathogen research.

☆ Thai AirAsia readies personnel as China travel resumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A flight attendant participates in an annual aviation safety & emergency course as China reopens its borders, at Asia Aviation Academy in Bangkok, Thailand January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Budget carrier Thai AirAsia (AAV.BK) is preparing its pilots and cabin crew for the return of Chinese tourists, previously its largest customer group, as the airline resumes routes across China. The airline plans to restart flights to eight Chinese cities including Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Wuhan, for which cabin crew are undergoing refresher training courses. "In the flight, we should have at least one cabin crew who can speak Mandarin to communicate with passengers," said cabin crew member, Sakuna Puangpipat. Reporting by Napat Wesshasartar; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China said last Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID died in hospitals between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12 - a roughly ten-fold increase from previous disclosures. However, that number excludes those who die at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates. China's chaotic exit from a regime of mass lockdowns, travel restrictions and frequent COVID testing, has also prompted a run on drugs as people fend for themselves against the disease. To meet soaring demand, drugmakers in China are ramping up operations to triple their capacity to make key fever and cough medicines, the state-run China Daily reported on Thursday. Medical facilities are relatively weak in rural areas, thus prevention is difficult and the task is arduous," Xi said, adding that the elderly were a top priority.

☆ Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/StaffBEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former high school teacher Ailia was devastated when her 85-year-old father died after displaying COVID-like symptoms as the virus swept through their hometown in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. Her father died in late December, weeks after China dropped its COVID restrictions. Among those fatalities, 90% were 65 or older and the average age was 80.3 years, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Hong recalls visiting with her father to a crowded Wuhan crematorium to collect the ashes of her grandparents - a grim but common experience during China's COVID surge. Relatives were likewise sceptical about official death tolls, with several citing lost trust in the government during three years of "zero COVID" pandemic management.

If doctors believe that the death was caused solely by COVID-19 pneumonia, they must report to their superiors, who will arrange for two levels of "expert consultations" before a COVID death is confirmed, it said. "We have stopped classifying COVID deaths since the reopening in December," said a doctor at a large public hospital in Shanghai. Three other doctors at public hospitals in different cities said they were unaware of any such guidance. Before Saturday, China was reporting five or fewer COVID deaths per day. But the hospital told him it had run out of medicine, so they could only go home.

☆ China's Dec home prices fall, more supportive policies likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts say the property sector is showing signs of recovery, but it remains uneven and more supportive policies are needed to revive sentiment in the battered market. From a year earlier, prices fell for the eighth month in a row, dropping 1.5% from a 1.6% slump in November. Prices in tier-one cities remained unchanged from a month earlier in December from a decline of 0.2% in November. To relax restrictions on borrowing for property developers, regulators will improve the "three red lines" rule for 30 pilot firms, state media Xinhua reported last week. The policy restricts the amount of new borrowing property developers can raise each year by placing caps on their debt ratios.

☆ China reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths, says peak passed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING — China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December following complaints it was failing to release data, and said the “emergency peak” of its latest surge appears to have passed. The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. The report would more than double China’s official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in other places. “These data show the national emergency peak has passed,” Jiao said at a news conference.

The removal of inbound quarantine prompted a surge in demand for plane tickets in countries like Singapore which have large communities of overseas Chinese. “China remained closed off after Singapore reopened, so to go back, people needed to do PCR tests, undergo quarantine, and prices of flight tickets skyrocketed. Chu said she had missed her parents, her 83-year-old father and 78-year-old mother, and worried about their failing health. Her biggest wish was to spend as much time with them as possible when she goes back this time. “I haven’t seen them for three years, and they both got COVID, and are quite old.

A key adviser to the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine panel is questioning whether more Covid booster shots are necessary for healthy, younger people. The FDA later backed the vaccine panel, authorizing a new formulation of the booster shots. “The people who are talking about why young people need it are missing the point,” he said, referring to the booster. Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, continues to encourage Covid boosters for everyone who is eligible. Relatively few people in the U.S. have had updated boosters.

☆ Mainland Chinese head to Hong Kong for mRNA COVID vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Joyce Zhou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Scores of mainland Chinese travellers are rushing to Hong Kong to receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which are not available on the Chinese mainland, as the country grapples with a torrent of infections which have overwhelmed its health system. A private hospital in the special Chinese administrative region of Hong Kong welcomed the first batch of mainland customers on Thursday, just five days after China reopened its borders for the first time in three years, allowing quarantine free travel. [1/5] Yoyo Liang, from mainland China, received a dose of BioNTech bivalent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a private clinic in Hong Kong, China January 12, 2023. There is no bivalent vaccine available in mainland Chin," she explained after she received her jab. Virtus, which has received more than 300 inquiries so far about the vaccines, is expecting more mainland customers to come to Hong Kong in the coming weeks and months, the company's chief medical officer Samuel Kwok told reporters.

That abrupt U-turn unleashed COVID on a 1.4 billion population which has been shielded from the virus since it first erupted in China's Wuhan city in 2019. The outbreak is now overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums as it rips through the population, where many elderly are still not fully vaccinated. "This is a very pertinent suggestion, return to the home town...or put the health of the elderly first," wrote one user. The country did not report COVID fatalities data on Tuesday and Wednesday. But concerns about China's outbreak has prompted more than a dozen countries to demand negative COVID test results from people arriving from China.

☆ China 'wolf warrior' diplomatic spokesperson Zhao moves to new role
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who gained prominence as one of China's most outspoken "wolf warrior" diplomats, has been transferred to its department that manages land and sea borders, according to the ministry's website. Zhao, 50, is now deputy head of the ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, the website showed on Monday. In a controversial Twitter post in March 2020, Zhao wrote that the U.S. military might have brought the coronavirus to the Chinese city of Wuhan. Zhao, who often hosted the ministry's daily media briefing, has 1.9 million Twitter followers. Zhao and the ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his change in role.

☆ China establishes mortgage rate adjustment mechanism for some home buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's central bank and the banking and insurance regulator have established a dynamic adjustment mechanism on mortgage rates for first-time home buyers, the central bank said on Thursday, in a bid to further support the property sector. The crisis in China's property market, once a pillar of the world's second-biggest economy, worsened last summer with home prices, sales and investment all falling sharply. According to analysts' calculation, 38 cities are eligible for adjustable mortgage rate floors, including some second-tier cities such as Wuhan and Zhengzhou and more than 20 smaller cities. Analysts said the move shows the government's growing intent to support demand in weak cities, but added the impact may be limited. "Lowering mortgage rates has not been able to drive sales.

China reported one new COVID-19 death in the mainland for Wednesday, compared with five a day earlier, bringing its official death toll to 5,259. Chinese health officials have said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure in patients who had the virus are classified as COVID deaths. The methods for counting COVID deaths have varied across countries since the pandemic first erupted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. British-based health data firm Airfinity has estimated about 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID. TESTING WASTEWhile countries try to get more information on the extent and severity of China's outbreak, several have imposed requirements on travellers from China to be tested for COVID.

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