(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong, once known as the freest economy on earth and “Asia’s World City,” is now second only to Pakistan as the worst place to live during Covid. 

The city, roiled by its worst outbreak since the pandemic began, saw its ranking tumble to 52nd on Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking in February — the lowest position ever occupied by a developed economy since the measure began. It’s largely because the recent surge in omicron infections prompted Hong Kong, which ranked as high as ninth a year ago, to pile on strict social distancing measures on top of its isolationist policies.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the pace of Covid-19 shots plummeted to the lowest level since the start of the vaccination campaign, the latest sign that the nation may be nearing maximum uptake. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will significantly loosen mask guidelines on Friday, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks indoors, the Associated Press reported.

Elsewhere, the European Union’s drugs regulator cleared new vaccine options for children, recommending approval of Moderna Inc.’s shot for a younger age group and green-lighting boosters of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE immunization for teens. The moves by the European Medicines Agency on Thursday broaden the options for age groups that have seen soaring case rates as the omicron variant sweeps the continent. 

Key Developments:

• Virus Tracker: Cases pass 430.8 million; deaths top 5.9 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 10.6 billion doses administered
• What we know about omicron and subvariant BA.2: QuickTake
• The Best and Worst Places to Be as the Omicron Threat Fades

Covid Leads to Surge in Orphans, Study Says (7:30 a.m. HK)

At least 5.2 million children have lost a parent or caregiver to Covid, putting them at risk of poverty, exploitation and abuse and highlighting the lasting scars of the pandemic, a study shows.

More than 1.2 million children under nine years of age were orphaned between March 2020 and October last year, along with 2.1 million kids between 10 and 17, according to a new modeling study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal. 

Omicron Holds Back Indian Economy (7:01 a.m. HK)

Indian economic activity showed mixed signals in January, with most indicators pointing to a moderation in growth after a surge in omicron cases brought back some of the pandemic-related restrictions.

While five of the eight high-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg News came in weak last month, the rest signaled a steady recovery. A three-month weighted average view of the readings, however, helped keep the needle on a dial measuring the so-called ‘Animal Spirits’ unchanged at 5 for a seventh month. 

Asian Airlines Face Bankruptcy Risks (7 a.m. HK)

Stirrings of a recovery in global travel are bringing airlines back from the brink, but the rebound may come too late for several carriers still facing a heightened risk of bankruptcy, a Bloomberg News analysis shows.

Covid paralyzed international aviation as nations locked their borders and imposed other restrictions that are only now being dismantled in some parts of the world. Asia is lagging, with China and Hong Kong almost completely walled off, and the financial positions of some airlines in the region have deteriorated since Bloomberg did the same analysis in March and November 2020

New York Times Sets June for Office Return (2:41 p.m. NY)

New York Times Co. told its employees to begin returning to the office by the week of June 6.

Most Times employees will work in a “hybrid” environment that “balances the benefits of in-person participation with the flexibility of working remotely,” Times’ chief human resources officer, Jacqueline M. Welch, wrote in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

“We are proceeding with a phased, gradual return that gives ample time to readjust to office life, and to manage a return that works for you and your family,” she wrote.

Most Californians Back Mask, Vaccine Rules (12:48 p.m. NY)

Most California voters support mandated Covid-19 vaccinations and masking for students and teachers at K-12 schools, according to a new survey by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

About two-thirds of the roughly 9,000 respondents said they wanted the precautions to contain the virus, according to the poll, which was co-sponsored and published by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. The views diverged according to political affiliation: While about 85% of Democrats backed vaccine mandates for schools about 70% of Republicans opposed them. 

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom last week unveiled a plan to move the most prosperous U.S. state into the next phase of managing the pandemic as cases sharply fall. 

U.S. Vaccinations Plunge (10:51 a.m. NY)

The pace of Covid-19 shots in the U.S. has plummeted to the lowest level since the start of the vaccination campaign, the latest sign that the nation may be nearing maximum uptake.

The seven-day average of shots administered fell to 337,874 on Feb. 18, the lowest since December 2020, when vaccine distribution had just begun and the shots were only available to the most vulnerable. At the peak of the U.S. campaign, in April 2021, about 3.5 million shots a day were being given.

A Jan. 11-23 survey for KFF Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor shows that most adults who want the shots have already been inoculated, and demand for kids’ shots is proving much less robust.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.