South Korea investigates deaths of two who received Covid-19 vaccine
- Both people had pre-existing conditions and died within days of receiving the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
- Elsewhere, Australia is extending its year-long international border closure by at least three months to mid-June and Tokyo looks to extend its emergency
A 63-year-old nursing home patient with cerebrovascular disease, developed symptoms including high fever, after being given the vaccine four days ago, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.
The man was moved to a larger hospital on Tuesday, but died after showing symptoms of blood poisoning and pneumonia, Yonhap news agency reported.
Another nursing home patient in his 50s with a cardiac disorder and diabetes died on Wednesday after suffering multiple heart attacks, having received the vaccine a day earlier, the agency said.
South Korea kicks off coronavirus vaccination campaign
KDCA said it is investigating the cause of the deaths, but did not confirm any causal relationship to the vaccine. The agency earlier said it will provide compensation of over 430 million won (US$383,466) for deaths from the Covid-19 vaccine.
“KDCA is conducting epidemiological surveys with relevant local authorities … to confirm any link with inoculation,” Jeong said.
An AstraZeneca spokeswoman in Seoul said the company had no comment.
Jeong noted that there were no cases of fatalities from receiving Covid-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech. However, did urge people to take the shot when they are feeling in good health.
The KDCA said that out of the people who had received the coronavirus vaccines, 207 had adverse reactions, including three cases of severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis.
South Korea began vaccinating its population last week. By Tuesday midnight, 85,904 people had received the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,524 had been given Pfizer shots, KDCA said in a statement.
South Korea reported 444 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 344 on Monday, raising the country’s tally to 90,816 infections, with 1,612 deaths.
Australia to extend pandemic border closure
Health Minister Greg Hunt said health officials had advised the government “the Covid-19 situation overseas continues to pose an unacceptable public health risk to Australia, including the emergence of more highly transmissible variants”.
As a result, strict border controls will continue until June 17, he said.
Australia closed its international border early in the pandemic, shutting out most non-citizens except in special circumstances.
Chinese-Australians feel they belong, but discrimination a factor: survey
Caps were also imposed on the number of Australians permitted to return each week, leaving tens of thousands stranded overseas.
Travellers allowed into the country must spend thousands of dollars to complete 14 days in hotel quarantine on arrival.
Australia has been relatively successful in containing the spread of Covid-19, with just under 29,000 cases recorded in a population of 25 million and few virus restrictions now in place.
Tokyo considers extending emergency
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and her counterparts in Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures are expected to discuss the matter ahead of the scheduled end date on Sunday.
Suga, meanwhile, reiterated he will decide whether to lift the state of emergency based on a range of factors after consulting health experts.
Tokyo asks China to stop coronavirus anal swab tests on Japanese citizens
Any decision for the metropolitan area will be as a whole rather than for each prefecture individually, he said in a session of the House of Councillors’ Budget Committee
Ending the state of emergency, under which people are being urged to refrain from unnecessarily leaving the house and restaurants and bars asked to close by 8pm, is expected to be a crucial step toward reviving the world’s third-largest economy.
But health experts and prefectural governments have expressed concern that doing so prematurely could trigger a resurgence in infections as Japan heads into the season for cherry blossom-viewing parties.
Suga declared a one-month state of emergency in the Tokyo metropolitan area on January 7 before expanding it to a total of 11 prefectures. He later extended it by an additional month but ended it early for the remaining prefectures, citing a fall in infections and rise in the availability of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients.
Genting Malaysia plans salary cuts
Casino-to-hospitality giant Genting Malaysia is planning another round of salary cuts as it seeks to slash costs amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic.
Genting Malaysia, a unit of conglomerate Genting that is controlled by Malaysian tycoon Lim Kok Thay, is asking some employees to agree to a temporary reduction of 15 or 20 per cent in basic salary based on their ranks, according to an internal memo dated March 1. Some workers are being asked to take one day a week of no pay leave.
The cuts will be in effect until May, according to the memo. Senior management have voluntarily agreed to waive 20 per cent of their salaries for the same period, it said.
Will Genting’s Hong Kong plight affect its units in Malaysia, Singapore?
This is the second time since the start of the pandemic that the Genting group has had to cut staff compensation. In April, the conglomerate led by parent Genting announced its first group-wide salary reduction since its founding in 1965 after the pandemic roiled its casinos, cruises and resorts.
A representative for Genting Malaysia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reporting by Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, Kyodo
