Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen people have been killed in home fires in Mongolia since the beginning of the year, local media reported Thursday, citing a government agency

Eight of those killed in the fires were children, said Bor Dulamsuren, public relations officer at the National Emergency Management Agency.

Leaving children at home unattended, negligence and electrical short-circuits were the main causes of the fires, Dulamsuren said, urging citizens to prevent possible fires in their own homes. Enditem

Production had begun at ATO in April 2020 and the resource will be used for an upcoming feasibility study, looking to more than double output from about 60,000oz to 150,000oz a year.

"This dramatic increase in the ATO resource further underpins the long life attributes of the project," president and CEO Bataa Tumur-Ochir said.

The updated resource comprises a measured and indicated 1.39Moz gold and 20.48Moz silver, or 2.24Moz Au-eq, and an inferred 208,000oz Au-eq.

The boost was mainly due to drilling at the ATO 4 deposit and the initial resource for the Mungu deposit.

Tumur-Ochir said the update supported the phase two expansion project and showed ample resources for a 2.5 million tonne per annum fresh ore development.

"The bankable feasibility study remains on schedule to be released Q2 2021 and we are optimistic that this study will bear out a robust economic result and a further 10 plus years of production at 150,000oz Au-eq with a focus on the fresh rock ores," he said.

ATO had produced 25,731oz of gold and 11,494oz of silver in the six months to September 30.

Executive chairman Matthew Wood said Steppe planned to ramp up exploration this year and had an internal target of 3-5Moz across its licences.

Steppe is planning a secondary listing on the Mongolian Stock Exchange, with proceeds of a proposed placement expected to be used for the phase two expansion.

Its Toronto-listed shares (TSX: STGO) have ranged between C63c-$3.14 over the past year and closed up 3.3% yesterday to $2.48, valuing it at $156 million (US$125 million).

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has recently announced its ‘TOP-30’ 3x3 team ranking for 2021, in which three Mongolian teams ‘Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy,’ ‘Sansar MMC Energy’ and ‘Zaisan MMC Energy’ were included.

Earlier the TOP-30 included ‘Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy’ and ‘Sansar MMC Energy’, this time the Mongolian team ‘Zaisan MMC Energy’ was added to it as it takes 28th place.

The ranking was topped by Serbia with its five teams in the TOP-30, followed by Mongolia and Russia, each has three teams in the ranking.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ According to the Ministry of Health, 46 people were confirmed with coronavirus through PCR testing conducted nationwide in the last 24 hours.

These cases were all reported in Ulaanbaatar city. 21 infection cases were detected from close contacts of the confirmed cases in the clusters while one person was diagnosed positive when tested within the “One door-one test” campaign.

Mongolia now has 2,801 registered cases of COVID-19. 27 people have recovered in the last 24 hours and discharged from hospital, bringing the number of recovered people at 2,097. In other words, 74.8 percent of total cases have been recovered.

Furthermore, senior specialist of the Ministry of Health D.Narangerel provided information on the progress of the vaccination against the coronavirus.

"Two days have been passed since the launching of vaccination in Mongolia. We planned to involve 14,092 people of 16 target organizations in the first place. And 22 percent of them or 3,112 people have been involved in the vaccination so far."

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Today, February 25, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene together with five Cabinet Ministers held a meeting with representatives of tourism industry, discussing pressing issues and exchanged views on how to resume operations of the sector.

During the meeting, representatives put proposals to the Cabinet Head to announce the definite period when the country’s border will be re-opened as well as to renew regulations to be adhered to operations. In response, PM L.Oyun-Erdene said “The issue related to re-opening of the country’s border from May 1 will be studied and discussed at the Cabinet meeting next week. The decision will depend on how well the citizens will adhere to infection protection regime and get vaccinated. We planned to vaccinate over 50 percent of entire population in a very short period of time. As the situation is unpredictable, I cannot give a promise, but the Government will do its best for it."

At the meeting, representatives of entities and associations operating in the industry expressed their positions and presented the situation created by the pandemic.

President of the Mongolian Restaurant Association M.Yesunmunkh said “The tourism industry brought income of MNT 1.6 trillion or USD 607 million to Mongolia in 2019. It makes up 7.2 percent of gross domestic product. The figure stands at 30-35 percent in countries where tourism has developed. Mongolia welcomed 577 thousand tourists in 2019. While the industry’s income went down by 65.8 percent in 2020. A total of 2,300 entities are operating in tourism sector and 88,700 people or 6.7 percent of Mongolia’s total work force are employed in the sector.”

Board Member of the Mongolian Tourism Association B.Barsbold said that 570 tour operator companies ran their operations in 2019, earning USD 240 million of income. Unfortunately, 98 percent of the sector’s operation halted in 2018 due to the pandemic, leading 49 percent of total workers to be unemployed. Workplace for the rest is at risk as well. To revive the tourism sector there are necessities to re-open the country's border in the nearest future, provide financial support, increase civil aviation capacity and to give support from the Government on strengthening marketing service and human resource capacity.

At the end of the meeting, PM L.Oyun-Erdene said the Government will render support in five directions, taking into consideration the issues raised at the meeting. These include:

To provide financial support to overcome the difficulties of COVID-19

To make liberalization in air transport sector

To study and resolve the proposal to re-open border from May 1 of this year

To digitize visa service and create legal environment to operate digital consul

To collaborate on implementing integrated marketing at the sectorial level

Russia’s largest independent gas producer, Novatek, has signed a long-term contract with a Chinese partner as it aims to expand its presence in the fast-growing Asian-Pacific region.

The deal with Shenergy Group will see Novatek deliver over three million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to terminals in China over 15 years, Novatek announced on Thursday.

“Our LNG commercial strategy is to diversify our client base and target end consumers in the fast-growing Asian Pacific region,” the head of Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson, said in a statement. “The Chinese market is one of the key regions in our LNG marketing strategy, and we plan to further increase our supplies of liquefied natural gas to this country.”

Arctic LNG 2 is Novatek’s second large-scale LNG project in Russia’s Arctic. It includes the construction of three LNG liquefaction trains, which will have a total annual capacity of 19.8 million tons. The project has attracted several foreign investors, including Chinese companies CNOOC and CNPC, France’s Total and a consortium of Japan’s Mitsui and Jogmec, which each have a 10 percent share in the project.

US regulators have found the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective.

It paves the way for it to become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be authorised in the US, possibly within days.

The vaccine would be a cost-effective alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and can be stored in a refrigerator instead of a freezer.

Trials found it prevented serious illness but was 66% effective overall when moderate cases were included.

The company has agreed to provide the US with 100 million doses by the end of June. The UK, EU and Canada have also ordered doses and 500 million doses have also been ordered through the Covax scheme to supply poorer nations.

Will vaccines always work against Covid?

Covid map: Where have the 111m cases been?

What does trial data say?

The briefing document published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gives more detail on the data submitted by Janssen, a pharmaceutical branch of Johnson & Johnson, to the regulator. The FDA concludes that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has "known benefits" in reducing both symptomatic and severe illness.

It comes after the firm released data last month.

Results from trials conducted in the US, South Africa and Brazil found its efficacy against the worst outcomes of the virus was "similarly high" but overall protection was lower in South Africa and Brazil, where virus variants have become dominant.

Data showed it was more than 85% effective at preventing serious illness, but only 66% effective overall when moderate cases were included, when considering cases at least 28 days after vaccination.

Notably, there were no deaths among participants who had received the vaccine and no hospital admissions after 28 days post-vaccine.

What happens now?

An external committee of experts will meet on Friday to recommend whether the FDA should authorise the vaccine, possibly adding to a coming surge in vaccine availability in the US.

A White House official said the administration anticipated distributing at least three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, should it receive emergency authorisation from the FDA.

The company says it plans to deliver 20 million doses in total by late March, in line with an agreement to supply the US with 100m doses by the end of June.

Not only will the vaccine require fewer doses than its two-shot Pfizer and Moderna counterparts, it will also require fewer vaccine appointments and medical staff as a result.

Who else has ordered the Johnson & Johnson jab?

UK - 30 million doses

EU - 200 million doses

Canada - 38 million doses

Covax nations - 500 million doses

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine appeared safe and effective in trials, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff said in documents published on Wednesday, paving the way for its approval for emergency use.

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The FDA’s panel of independent experts meets on Friday to decide whether to approve the shot. While it is not bound to follow the advice of its experts, the FDA usually does and has authorized vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

J&J said in documents submitted to the FDA that its data suggested its vaccine was effective at preventing asymptomatic infections. It said that in a preliminary analysis of its trial, it found 16 cases of asymptomatic cases in the placebo group versus two in the vaccine group, or an 88% efficacy rate.

While asymptomatic infection was not the primary goal of the trial, which studied the vaccine’s ability to stop moderate to severe COVID-19, the reduction of asymptomatic cases implies the shot can also cut transmission of the disease.

J&J’s vaccine was 66% effective in preventing COVID-19 against multiple variants in a global trial involving nearly 44,000 people, the company said last month.

Its effectiveness varied from 72% in the United States to 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where a new variant has spread, though the vaccine was 85% effective overall in stopping severe cases of the disease.

The vaccine was effective in reducing the risk of COVID-19 and preventing PCR-test confirmed COVID-19 at least 14 days after vaccination, the FDA said in its briefing documents.

Fourteen days after injection, only two vaccine recipients developed COVID-19 severe enough to need medical intervention, compared with 14 in the placebo group. After 28 days, no vaccine recipients developed COVID severe enough to require medical intervention whereas seven in the placebo group did.

Three vaccine recipients had severe side effects in the trial that were likely related to the vaccine, but the FDA said its analysis did not raise any specific safety concerns that would preclude issuance of an emergency use authorization.

The FDA said the most common solicited adverse reactions were injection site pain at 48.6%, headache at 39%, fatigue at 38.2% and myalgia at 33.2%. Other side effects included a fever in 9% of participants and a high fever in 0.2% of those who received the vaccine.

The regulator said one case of pericarditis, a heart disease, may have been caused by the vaccine. It said cases of a rare disorder, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, were unlikely to be related to the shot though data was insufficient to determine whether or not the vaccine had caused these side effects.

J&J had not previously released details of its clinical trial data beyond efficacy rates.

Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Mike Erman, Caroline Humer and Rebecca Spalding; Editing by Bernard Orr and David Clarke

Joint press release on COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Mongolia by the Government of Mongolia, United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Today marks a major milestone for Mongolia with the administration of its first batch of vaccine to prevent the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), beginning with the frontline health care workers at high risk. Government of Mongolia has received an initial 150000 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, that has received Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organization (WHO) and approval by Mongolia’s national regulatory authority. Following the arrival of further doses, other priority groups, including older people and those with health issues, which put them at higher risk for severe illness, will be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Government of Mongolia has implemented a number of preventive measures to contain the local epicenters of COVID-19 and spread of the virus. Following the first imported case reported in March 2020, the country has successfully contained the virus’ spread with no local transmissions until November 2020. When the pandemic spread amongst local communities, the Government has continued its efforts to minimize the pandemic’s impact.

The arrival of the first doses of vaccines brings hope, but other prevention measures must continue. Step-by-step vaccination of 60 percent of the population will allow citizens, businesses and organizations to return to normal life style and to this extent, revitalize the economy and thereby provide jobs and increase income.

This time, by imposing the State of All-Out-Readiness in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolians were able to contain the outbreak, limit the spread of the disease, prepare for vaccination roll-out and build the basis for the implementation of the 10 Trillion Comprehensive national plan to protect the public health and recover the economy. Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene said: “The State of All-Out-Readiness ends today and the curfew in the capital has been lifted. Citizens, businesses and organizations have returned to normal work and life. Twelve days, another example of how our nation can face adversity together, are behind us. I would like to express my gratitude to the residents and citizens of the Capital City, who respected and tolerated the Government's decision during the quarantine. Within the framework of "One door - One test", 33 local epicenters of coronavirus and 122 cases were identified. In other words, the risk of onward transmission through these 122 people was eliminated and a comprehensive information base for each household was created.

I would like to emphasize that ““One Door - One Test” is a baseline study for further developing a strategy of where we should go tomorrow, based on where we are now. My appreciation goes to all Government workers and employees, who have fulfilled their duty.” Further, Prime Minister has noted that time to calm down is yet to come and urged everyone to adhere to the infection control regime. He also expressed his gratitude to the Government of India, World Health Organization, UN Resident Coordinator Office and UNICEF for their support in obtaining vaccines that meet international standards, as well as the Governments of Russia, China, the European Union, Republic of Korea and Japan.

The United Nations (UN) in Mongolia, with leadership of WHO and UNICEF, is pleased to partner with the Government of Mongolia, in the successful facilitation of its national programme of vaccination against COVID-19. The UN in Mongolia thanks the people of Mongolia for their continued strong solidarity and cooperation with health authorities in implementing the prevention measures, including hand washing, mask wearing and physical distancing, and complying with other restriction measures to minimize spread of the virus.

“I want to congratulate the people of Mongolia for successfully rolling out the first COVID-19 vaccines. Ahead of us is the great challenge in ensuring “vaccines for all” is a reality. It is the UN’s conviction that fair and equitable access to vaccines, backed by well-planned and resourced supply chains, as well as distribution support, is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do,” Tapan Mishra, UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, said.

The global effort to develop and deploy safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is truly unprecedented. WHO has been engaging with partners at all levels to ensure that countries, including Mongolia, are ready for the rapid deployment of vaccines, since no country is safe until people in all countries are protected. WHO supported the Government of Mongolia to prepare and submit to COVAX a sound National Vaccine Deployment Plan that demonstrates effective preparation and readiness including planning and coordination, training of healthcare workers and other front-line workers at national and sub-national level, prioritization of target populations, country cold chain capacity readiness and vaccine safety monitoring.

Congratulating the Government of Mongolia and the Minister of Health on successfully bringing the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the country, WHO Representative to Mongolia Dr Sergey Diorditsa said: “Vaccines, in combination with other protective measures, are an important new tool in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO will continue supporting the country to ensure successful and equitable deployment of COVID-19 vaccines by providing technical support, capacity building with health workers, providing necessary equipment and tools to strengthen safe storage and vaccination capacity, and engaging with health workers, frontline workers and communities to ensure that they are well-informed about COVID-19 vaccines and other important prevention measures.”

Globally, UNICEF is leading the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccines for 171 countries including Mongolia on behalf of the COVAX Facility – a partnership between WHO, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). At country level, UNICEF is supporting the Government of Mongolia to ensure the country is ready to introduce and deploy the vaccine. UNICEF is helping to upgrade Mongolia’s capacity to safely and securely store vaccines across the country, across the country, addressing misinformation, and building trust in safe and effective vaccines and in the health systems that deliver them.

UNICEF is giving top-priority to support the COVID-19 vaccination program because although only adults will be vaccinated, children will benefit tremendously: stopping the pandemic will allow children to go fully back to kindergarten, to school, to socialize with friends and to play sports as they have seriously fallen behind in their education and social development.

The COVID-19 pandemic became an unexpected driver of digital transformation all around the world taking over and transforming many aspects of our lives by making them simpler and more accessible. People can listen to music, read books, send e-letters, go shopping, and talk to people internationally from the comfort of their homes. As one of our Accelerator Lab members puts it, world class education at the world-renowned university is now just few clicks away.

However, digitalization has its challenges related to the access, information security and privacy of data. With every internet transaction, I am giving away my personal data and, without knowledge and experience, my privacy and security might be jeopardized. On the other hand, lack of access to the digital world could further exacerbate many of our existing issues such as inequality, if not addressed properly.

UNDP understands that it should consider all complexities around the new aspects of the digital shift, by moving fast to address the development challenges, and ensuring that ‘no one is left behind.’ It is important to be mindful about the potential digital divide that prevents people from enjoying the full benefits digitalization can deliver. Hence, UNDP started its Accelerator Labs, a vast network of 92 labs working in 116 countries, to look at innovation and acceleration with a holistic approach.

Photos: UNDP/ABS Project, Zayajargal Batjargal and Tumursukh Jal

Though the digital divide is understood as a gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who have not, it is not only about the mere absence of technology. It is also about the divergence in digital literacy – people’s ability to access, understand, and manage information through digital technologies for betterment of their lives. Often, this difference is rooted deep within existing inequalities due to location, education, and socio-economic status.

According to a study conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolian students from centrally located schools performed at least 60 points better on entrance exams than the students from schools in sub-urban and rural neighborhoods. Full shift of education to online mode since early 2020 has raised concerns of both parents and educators alike that this is creating a further educational gap with varying and unequal technological access and digital literacy, both on the part of teachers and students. Therefore, without proper structural and behavioral transformations, increased digitalization could worsen the digital exclusion and exacerbate existing inequalities.

We at UNDP Mongolia’s Accelerator Lab, are aiming to raise awareness of this divide and provide creative approaches to learn more about these fundamental shortcomings. Innovation doesn’t mean technology only. It means looking at things differently, changing the way we do things, our behaviors, and approaches. Technology is here to aid the process and help us to accelerate towards inclusive and sustainable growth, but it shouldn’t be identified as the answer to everything. We strongly believe that digitalization has an enormous potential and it will be the driving force of the future; however, our lives should not be too dependent on it.

As a part of the global learning network, Accelerator Labs draw inspiration from both local solutions and the global development trends. Contrary to project implementation, we are platforms that are managed collaboratively and horizontally, and to test innovative methods to channel people’s insights, views and actions towards complex development problems.

Empowered by our local and global perspective, we will work towards ensuring inclusiveness in digital transformation and improving digital literacy by providing human-centered insights on the issues and looking into the challenges through the eyes of those who are not benefitting from the digitalization process. Our strength and success on this journey will be highly dependent on our ability to crowdsource brilliant ideas to generate effective and collective solutions and with that we invite all interested partners to reach out and work with us to build Mongolia forward better to a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Powered by your collective intelligence and local innovations, three of us at UNDP Mongolia’s Accelerator Lab are looking forward to mapping, exploring, experimenting, and implementing uncharted and different development solutions for Mongolia.