Coronavirus latest: Samsung memorial attendee tests positive; Singapore schools to make tracing app mandatory

South Korea on Thursday said it had alerted about 1,000 people who attended the memorial of the late Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee last week to go for coronavirus testing after one person at the event tested positive. A local journalist who had covered the memorial developed symptoms two days later and tested positive on Monday, health authorities said. At least six new Covid-19 cases, including two colleagues and two family members had been linked to the journalist, the authorities said. Kwak Jin, an official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), told a briefing that no cases had yet been directly linked to the funeral home at the Samsung Medical Center, including that of the journalist, who wore a mask during the event. Visitors to the event included many high-profile business leaders, politicians and senior presidential aides. Samsung patriarch’s death spurs calls to reform South Korea’s chaebol Some of the visitors who had already tested negative for the virus after the memorial included a deputy national security adviser Kim Hyun-chong and the Jeju governor Won Hee-ryong, according to the presidential Blue House and the Jeju city. South Korea reported 125 new coronavirus cases as of Wednesday midnight, bringing the total number of infections to 27,050, and the Covid-19 death toll to 475. Singapore schools to make virus tracing token, app mandatory Students in Singapore will have to start using either the government’s contact-tracing token or mobile app from December, as the city state seeks to resume more activities amid the pandemic. The implementation of the entrance requirement to schools will be enforced for children age seven and above, and when they all have had a chance to collect the state-issued tokens or download the app, the Ministry of Education said Monday, according to updated guidelines on its website. The policy follows an earlier announcement that the “TraceTogether” technology must be used at popular venues like local restaurants, offices and shopping malls by December. To speed up travel restart, Singapore ditches quarantine for virus tests “Schools are safe with all the existing safe management measures,” the ministry said. Nonetheless, this policy will “complement current safe management measures as we progressively resume more activities and ease certain restrictions, both in and out of school”. Students will not be denied entry to schools if they do not have the app or forget to bring the token, it added. Singapore reopened its schools in June after a two-month partial lockdown. The country is looking to ease up more on pandemic curbs to normalise activity as new daily coronavirus cases have dwindled to near zero. Officials have said testing and tracing are key to these efforts. Japan’s daily Covid-19 cases spike as restrictions ease Japan on Thursday reported more than 1,000 new daily coronavirus cases for the first time since August 21, as the government has eased restrictions and promoted domestic travel to help support the economy. The number of additional infections in various parts of Japan has been trending upward in recent days. Tokyo confirmed 269 new infections, bringing its cumulative total to 31,893, the highest by far among Japan’s 47 prefectures. Of these, 154 contracted the virus via unknown routes, the metropolitan government said. Japan’s suicide spike reflects pandemic’s toll on women, teenage girls In Hokkaido, 119 new cases were reported, its highest single-day increase. It was the first time the country’s northern main island, a popular tourist destination, saw a daily figure above 100 since the outbreak of the virus. Some clusters of infections were reported in Susukino, a major nightlife entertainment district. Osaka Prefecture, which has the second-highest cumulative total, confirmed an additional 125 cases. “While I cannot say whether this is a third wave (of the coronavirus), it is true that there is a rise,” said Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, adding he would hold a conference with a panel of experts possibly next week. Japan on Thursday confirmed an additional 1,050 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 105,688 cases. The death toll now stands at 1,821. India-made vaccine could be launched as early as February: scientist An Indian government-backed Covid-19 vaccine could be launched as early as February – months earlier than expected – as last-stage trials begin this month and studies have so far showed it is safe and effective, a senior government scientist said. Bharat Biotech, a private company that is developing Covaxin with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), had earlier hoped to launch it only in the second quarter of next year. “The vaccine has shown good efficacy,” said senior ICMR scientist Rajni Kant, who is also a member of its Covid-19 task force, at the research body’s New Delhi headquarters on Thursday. “It is expected that by the beginning of next year, February or March, something would be available.” Bharat Biotech could not immediately be contacted. A launch in February would make Covaxin the first India-made vaccine to be rolled out. ‘To hell with this corona’: the mask slips for India’s Covid-19 sceptics Meanwhile, New Delhi, the capital city with the worst air quality worldwide, suffered its most toxic day in a year on Thursday, recording the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particles at 14 times over the World Health Organization safe limit. A raging coronavirus epidemic, with more than 400,000 confirmed cases in the city of 20 million, has heightened alarm over the health hazard posed by the choking smog, with doctors warning of a sharp increase in respiratory illnesses. “At this time in Delhi, coronavirus and pollution are causing a major havoc,” Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister said in a recorded video on Twitter. “We are seeing all round the sky is covered with smoke, and because of this the situation from coronavirus is worsening.” India’s cases of coronavirus infections rose by 50,201 cases on Thursday to 8.36 million, second only to the US. Deaths rose by 704, with the total now at 124,315. The daily rise in infections and deaths has slowed since a peak in mid-September. North Korean hackers tried to spy on Covid-19 vaccine data: US firm A North Korean cyber espionage group attempted to hack into multiple international organisations, including companies working on coronavirus vaccines, according to a US cybersecurity firm. In a threat alert published this week, Boston-based Cybereason identified previously undiscovered spyware used by “Kimsuky”, a group that has been operating in North Korea since 2012, to carry out global intelligence gathering operations. Spyware refers to malicious software that can be used to track and steal information about and from internet users. Is North Korea hiding coronavirus quarantine camps on China border? Cybereason said the malware and infrastructure shared similar features and had been linked to the same IP address as another piece of malware, called BabyShark, that was employed by Kimsuky in the past to target US think tanks. The group targeted a range of government entities and private firms in not only South Korea but also the United States, Europe, Russia and Japan. These included pharmaceutical companies working on the research and development of Covid-19 vaccines, according to Cybereason. The group’s other targets included the Ministry of Unification, the United Nations Security Council and even journalists covering inter-Korean relations, the report said. Nintendo’s profit spikes thanks to gamers staying at home Nintendo, the Japanese company behind Super Mario and Pokemon video games, on Thursday reported that its fiscal first half profit more than tripled as people passed time while stuck at home playing games during the pandemic. Kyoto-based Nintendo Co’s profit for the six months through September soared to 213 billion yen (US$2 billion), up from 62 billion yen a year ago. Six-month sales soared to 769 billion yen (US$7.4 billion) from 444 billion yen. Nintendo said more than 5 million units of Super Mario 3D All-Stars game software for the Nintendo Switch were sold during the period, and nearly 3 million units of Paper Mario: The Origami King were sold. ‘Demon Slayer’ anime breaks records as Japan seeks Covid-19 escape Earlier releases also continued to sell briskly, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which has now sold a cumulative 26 million units globally, according to Nintendo. Nintendo’s online downloads and mobile sales also did well, it said. Nintendo said it expects the positive results to continue. The latest in its other hit game line-up, such as Pikmin 3 Deluxe, will go on sale this year, it said. Although rising coronavirus cases have hurt large chunks of the global economy, including Japan’s, some sectors, such as online retailing and at-home entertainment, are booming. Bangladesh signs deal with India for 30 million vaccine doses Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India on Thursday to buy 30 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca’s experimental Covid-19 vaccine is seen as one of the most advanced candidates in the race against the novel coronavirus. “Whenever the vaccine is ready, the Serum Institute will give us 30 million doses in the first phase,” health minister Zahid Maleque told reporters after the deal was signed in Dhaka. He said 5 million doses of vaccine per month would be purchased through Bangladesh’s drug maker, Beximco Pharmaceuticals. “We’ll be able to vaccinate 15 million people as two shots of vaccine are required for each person 28 days apart,” Maleque said. Bangladesh was in talks with development partners, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to secure funds for the vaccine, government officials said. Reporting by Reuters, AP, Korea Times, Bloomberg, Kyodo