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China’s Guangzhou fights Delta Covid variant with lockdowns, mass testing

China's Guangzhou fights Delta Covid variant with lockdowns, mass testing

People wait in lines for nucleic acid tests in Guangzhou, China on May 26, 2021.

Visual China Group | Getty Images

GUANGZHOU, China – Authorities in southern China’s Guangdong Province are conducting mass tests and have closed areas to control a flare-up of coronavirus cases in Guangzhou.

The city has cited the delta variant of the coronavirus, which was first discovered in India, as the driver behind the surge in cases reported since late May. The Delta Tribe is known to be highly transmissible.

Guangzhou, a city of over 15 million people and the provincial capital, reported 96 of the over 100 cases in Guangdong Province in this latest outbreak.

China, where the coronavirus first emerged last year, has quickly got the epidemic under control and has had very few cases in the past 12 months. However, clusters have emerged in parts of the country, including major cities such as the capital Beijing and the financial center of Shanghai.

The cases in Guangzhou may be even more worrying as it is the delta strain of the coronavirus, which can spread very quickly.

Lock

A 75-year-old woman in Liwan, a district of Guangzhou to the west of the city, was the first confirmed case of the Delta variant on May 21. She went to a restaurant and eventually infected her husband. The most recent infections started from there and have since spread to other areas of the city.

Liwan, still the hardest hit district, has strictly closed certain streets. Some areas do not allow people into a certain zone and residents are not allowed to leave their building. Checkpoints have been set up 24 hours a day to monitor movement in and out of these areas.

Restaurants and entertainment venues have also been closed.

But the virus has also spread to other parts of the city and province. Foshan, a city southwest of Guangzhou, has reported cases. On June 6th, six members of the same family in Guangzhou’s Nansha District tested positive for the coronavirus. On Sunday, a positive case was found at the Chinese technology center in Shenzhen, home to companies like Huawei and Tencent.

In other areas of Guangzhou that are less affected by the recent accumulation of cases, some restaurants and bars have started offering take-away meals.

Mass tests, travel restrictions

After the first case was found, Guangzhou first conducted mass tests in Liwan, which have since been expanded to other areas.

In the central business district known as Zhujiang New Town, residents were asked between Friday and Sunday to take a test at a location near their homes.

One such test site, which was set up on a street full of bars and restaurants, had huge lines on Friday.

Guangzhou performed over 16 million tests at midnight between May 26 and June 5.

In Guangzhou, the authorities have imposed stricter travel restrictions. Some metro stations in the city are closed. The authorities have asked people not to leave the city. However, if residents must leave the province, they should have a negative nucleic acid test within 48 hours of their departure. Previously, travelers had a 72-hour window.

Hundreds of domestic flights from Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport have also been canceled.

Driverless cars that carry supplies

Guangzhou has become a hub for driverless automakers to test their vehicles on public roads. And since Liwan is blocked, these companies transport goods to Liwan with their autonomous vehicles.

Guangzhou-based WeRide has used its autonomous bus to transport groceries to Liwan. Pony.ai, another autonomous driving company, has sent its vehicles to Liwan with supplies.

Chinese internet giant Baidu also used its autonomous vehicles to bring food and medical personnel to the affected areas.

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Health

Delta variant first present in India spreads to 62 nations, sizzling spots type in Asia and Africa, WHO says

Delta variant first found in India spreads to 62 countries, hot spots form in Asia and Africa, WHO says

A health worker attends to a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient who is assisted by a mechanical ventilator and is undergoing dialysis in the COVID-19 emergency room at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute State Hospital in Quezon City COVID- 19 infections in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 26, 2021.

Eloisa Lopez | Reuters

The variant of Covid-19, first discovered in India in October, has now spread to at least 62 countries as outbreaks increase across Asia and Africa – despite a 15% decrease in cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

“We continue to see significantly increased communicability and a growing number of countries reporting outbreaks related to this variant,” said WHO of the Delta strain, noting that further studies were a high priority.

The WHO changed the name of the variant to “Delta” to simplify the scientific name B.1.617.2. The new naming system for Covid variants by letters of the Greek alphabet also avoids stigmatizing countries that discover new tribes.

The P.1 variant, now known as “Gamma”, which was first discovered in Japan from Brazil, has now spread to 64 countries, according to the WHO.

Even in countries with high vaccination rates, there has been an increase in cases in the last week or two, “so no one is out of the woods,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Emergency Health Program, in a WHO-hosted Q&A on Wednesday on social media platforms.

In Bahrain, where around 55% of the population are vaccinated with at least one dose, Covid cases have risen since the beginning of May and, according to Our World in Data, have reached the highest level of daily reported cases since the pandemic began.

“Relaxation of public health and social measures, increased social mobility, virus variants and unfair vaccinations are a very dangerous combination,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical director for Covid-19, explained some of the recent increases.

The West Pacific region reports the highest Covid cases and deaths since the pandemic began, according to the agency’s weekly update. The region reported more than 139,000 new cases in the past week, up 6% from the previous week. The highest number of new cases in the region was reported from Myanmar with 53,419 new cases in the past week. Most of the deaths in the region were reported from the Philippines, with 776 deaths in the past week.

“In every region (of the world) there are hotspots, there are countries that are really facing very, very difficult situations with an increase in transmission,” said Van Kerkhove, noting that a combination of highly contagious variants, relaxed measures Public health and inconsistent vaccination rates around the world are responsible for the recent surge in cases. “Eighteen months later, we are all fed up with this virus. It’s not done with us yet, and if we give it a chance to expand, it will. “

The African region reported over 52,000 new cases and over 1,100 new deaths in the past week, up 22% and 11% respectively compared to the previous week, according to the weekly update.

WHO also said last week that Africa would need at least 20 million AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses within the next six weeks to get the second round of vaccinations to people who have already received the first. The continent has received only 1% of all vaccines administered worldwide and needs another 200 million doses of all approved Covid-19 vaccines to vaccinate 10% of the continent by September.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is pulling out all the stops to at least partially vaccinate at least 70% of all American adults by July 4th, offering vaccines at hair and beauty stores, free babysitting, and Uber rides for people vaccinated, among other incentives. As of Tuesday, more than 62% of all adults in the US had at least one syringe.

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Health

Coronavirus Variant Found in India is Renamed Delta

Coronavirus Variant Discovered in India is Renamed Delta

If you haven’t yet mastered the name of the latest variant of the coronavirus to turn nations upside down – B.1.617.2, as evolutionary biologists call it – then don’t worry: the World Health Organization has proposed a solution.

The group said Monday that it had developed a less technical and easier-to-pronounce system for naming variants – the mutated versions of the virus that have sparked new flare-ups around the world.

Variants are assigned to letters of the Greek alphabet in the order in which they are classified as a potential threat by the WHO

For example, B.1.617.2, which contributed to a fatal increase in India, was named Delta in the new system. This variant can spread even faster than B.1.1.7, the variant discovered in the UK that has contributed to devastating waves of cases around the world. (The new name of B.1.1.7 is Alpha.)

Scientists are constantly adding long sequences of letters and numbers to new variants for their purposes, but hope that Greek letters will roll off the tongue of non-scientists more easily.

There is also a deeper motivation: The letter-number system was so complicated that many people instead referred to variants with the locations where they were discovered (e.g. the Indian variant for B.1.617.2). Scientists fear these informal nicknames can be both inaccurate and stigmatizing, penalizing countries for investing in the genome sequencing necessary to sound the alarm of new mutations that may have surfaced elsewhere.

Whether the Greek letters stick is another question. It has been months since experts convened by the WHO started debating the issue, spreading labels like “the British variant” and “the South African variant” in the news media.

The experts said they considered a number of alternatives, such as taking syllables from existing words to form new words. But too many of those syllable combinations are already recognizable names of places or companies, they said.

Incidentally, the Greek letters had just been relieved of another task: the World Meteorological Organization announced in March that it would no longer use them to name hurricanes.

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Business

Delta faucets longtime GE exec Dan Janki as its new CFO

Delta taps longtime GE exec Dan Janki as its new CFO

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330neo or A330-900 aircraft with Neo engine option from the European aircraft manufacturer from Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport AMS EHAM.

Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines appointed long-time General Electric manager Dan Janki as its new CFO on Friday. The announcement comes as the airline tries to contain losses after the coronavirus pandemic decimated demand for travel.

Former CFO of the airline, Paul Jacobson, left the Atlanta-based airline last year and was appointed CFO of General Motors in October. Gary Chase and Bill Carroll served as interim Co-CFOs at Delta.

Janki, 53, joined General Electric in 1992 and was most recently Senior Vice President and CEO of GE Power Plant. He is due to join Delta on July 12 and will receive annual base pay of $ 650,000 and a cash signing bonus of $ 1.5 million, Delta said in a release.

Delta shares closed down 0.4% at $ 45.21 on Friday, up 12% so far this year.

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Business

Delta would require that new staff be vaccinated.

Delta will require that new employees be vaccinated.

Delta Air Lines requires new employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, but exempts current employees from this mandate, making it one of the first large companies to meet such a requirement.

“Any person who comes to Delta in the future, a future employee, will require the vaccination before they can sign up with the company,” said Ed Bastian, the airline’s executive director, in a CNN interview Thursday evening.

While current employees will be exempt, Mr Bastian said he expected 75 to 80 percent of the airline’s workforce to be vaccinated anyway and that he would “strongly encourage” the rest to do so. Unvaccinated employees could face some restrictions, such as not being allowed to work on international flights, he added.

Such decisions are difficult for large companies. On the one hand, requiring vaccinations for all workers would reduce workers’ fear of returning to the office and help the country achieve herd immunity, which would support economic recovery. On the other hand, it raises privacy concerns and could risk a backlash or even litigation.

In January, United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby told employees in a video forum that he supported the idea, but added that the airline could not “realistically be the only company” to do so. Nobody followed suit, and United never acted.

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Business

Delta to renew pilot hiring in June as journey demand returns

Delta to resume pilot hiring in June as travel demand returns

A pilot speaks on a mobile device near a Delta Air Lines gate at Salt Lake City International Airport.

George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday that it will resume hiring new pilots after other airlines prepare for future staff as the demand for travel picks up again.

The Atlanta-based airline will initially add 75 pilots with conditional vacancies “and likely to increase the number of new pilots by September,” wrote John Laughter, Delta senior vice president and chief of operations, in a staff memo, that was seen by CNBC.

United Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue Airways have either resumed hiring pilots or are planning for this year.

Airlines expanded jobs to hundreds of pilots over the past year, but the Covid-19 pandemic has halted their training. The airlines then offered the pilots and other staff an early retirement and temporary paid vacation to reduce the number of staff as the demand for travel fell.

Now airlines are looking to add new pilots as hundreds of their current pilots near the federal retirement age of 65.

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Business

Delta Air Strains (DAL) outcomes Q1 2021

Delta Air Lines (DAL) results Q1 2021

A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-251 approaches Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia on February 24, 2021.

Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines reported another quarterly loss on Thursday but expects to break even in June as demand for travel rebounds after a deep slump in the Covid pandemic.

Delta and its competitors continue to lose money, but have become optimistic about bookings improving as more travelers are vaccinated, travel restrictions are lifted and more attractions reopen. The airline said domestic leisure bookings rebounded to about 85% from 2019 levels, although international and business travel remains depressed.

Bookings in March doubled from January, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”. However, he added that the demand for business travel for this time of year is only 20% of the norm.

“When I look at the first quarter, it became clear to us that our business has taken a turn,” said Bastian. “We have seen a huge increase in bookings over the past few months.”

The Atlanta-based airline, which was the first to report results this quarter, posted a net loss of $ 1.18 billion on revenue of $ 4.15 billion from January through March, a 60% decrease from that month Delta generated $ 10.47 billion in Q1 2019 based on that, which is a loss of $ 3.55 per share, compared to a forecast of $ 3.17 per share.

Delta forecast a 50% to 55% drop in revenue for the second quarter compared to the same period in 2019 with planned capacity one-third lower than two years ago. The cost of cutting fuel costs will rise 6% to 9% this quarter, it said. These costs include a race to train pilots paused during the pandemic or flight pilots flying various types of aircraft in time for the midsummer travel season.

The capacity and revenue forecast “calls for a slower than expected near-term recovery,” Cowen & Co. wrote in a note after the results were released.

Delta’s shares fell more than 3% in the early afternoon.

Bastian said in an earnings release that the company expects “positive cash generation for the June quarter and sees a way to return to profitability in the September quarter as demand continues to recover”.

Here’s how Delta outperformed Wall Street expectations in the first quarter, based on Refinitiv’s average estimates:

  • Adjusted earnings per share: a loss of $ 3.55 versus an expected loss of $ 3.17 per share
  • Total sales: $ 4.15 billion versus expected $ 3.91 billion in sales

The airline is the last US airline to block center seats. This practice started earlier in the pandemic to make customers feel better about flying. Delta will be releasing this policy next month.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on Wednesday found that laboratory models show that physically distancing passengers on board can reduce exposure to the virus that causes Covid-19 by up to 57%. The study did not consider face masks that are required by the federal government on flights.

Bastian defended the decision to sell all seats on Delta’s planes and disagreed with the study’s conclusions as the researchers failed to enforce pandemic safety protocols.

“Our experts tell us that given the vaccination rates they are at and the demand for such a high vaccination rate, it is perfectly safe to sit in that middle seat,” he said.

Categories
Business

Eli Lilly, AMC, Delta Air Strains and extra

Eli Lilly, AMC, Delta Air Lines and more

Here are the companies that hit the headlines on Wall Street on Monday.

Eli Lilly – The drugmaker’s shares fell more than 9% after a phase 2 study of donanemab showed the treatment slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Mizuho Securities said in a note that the results were “solid, not stunning”.

AMC Entertainment – The cinema giant’s shares rose 25.8% as it began reopening theaters in Los Angeles. AMC reopened two locations in the city on Monday and plans to reopen the remaining 23 theaters in Los Angeles by Friday. The company hopes to open all locations across the state by Friday.

American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group – Shares in major US airlines rose Monday on optimism about the return to normal travel with the introduction of vaccines. Air traffic over the weekend reached its highest level in more than a year and airlines are registering more bookings. American Airlines and United Airlines stocks rose 8.3% and 7.7%, respectively. Delta was up 2.3% and Alaska Air Group was up 5.8%.

MGM Resorts – Hotels and gaming stocks rose roughly 5.1% after investment firm Jefferies MGM upgraded to buy from the hold. The company cited reasons for optimism that the prospects for travel to Las Vegas improved and the rise in online gambling.

Unity Software – Unity Software’s shares rose 3.8% after Goldman Sachs began backing the video game stock with a buy recommendation known as a “design platform for the masses.” The Wall Street company has given Unity a target price of $ 126 per share, up nearly 20% from its opening price of $ 105.70 per share.

Gap – The retailer’s shares rose 4.7% after Wells Fargo raised its target for the stock to a street high of $ 40, up about 30% above where stocks closed on Friday. The company “appears extremely well positioned for market share gains this year, Athleta has a significant runway for further growth, and the Gap brand is green with its brand health initiatives,” Wells Fargo wrote in a statement to customers.

NXP Semiconductors, Penn National Gaming – S&P Dow Jones Indices announced new additions to the S&P 500 on Friday, adding to the shares of Penn National Gaming and NXP Semiconductors. Shares rose 9% and 4.6% respectively on Monday.

GenMark Diagnostics – Diagnostics company’s shares rose 30% after it was revealed that Roche had bought GenMark for $ 1.8 billion in cash. The potential for a deal had already been reported.