Overview: Asia developments, Hong Kong, South Korea, China vaccine situation

Feb 28 (Reuters) --  ...

Hong Kong mortuaries hit capacity

 -- Facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries in Hong Kong are at maximum capacity due to a record number of COVID-19 fatalities, the Hospital Authority said on Monday, as officials battle to control a surge in cases.

The global financial hub reported a daily record high of 34,466 new coronavirus infections and 87 deaths on Monday, health authorities said. read more  ...

South Korea will temporarily lift a requirement for vaccine passes or negative COVID-19 tests at a number of businesses to ease the strain on testing centres, authorities said on Monday, as the country faces a wave of Omicron infections.

The move will allow public testing and health facilities to devote more resources to battling the wave of new cases, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol told a COVID-19 response meeting. read more

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China has spent over a year developing Pfizer-type COVID-19 vaccines that may even help it pivot from stringent "zero-COVID" restrictions, but a changed market and the Omicron variant have muddied prospects before efficacy data has even been published.

Still, China is unlikely to join the majority of countries in approving foreign-made vaccines based on messenger RNA technology before making its own, experts said, though a slowing vaccination drive at home and in some other nations and improved supply of approved vaccines have raised questions of viability. read more  ...