FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* The U.S. intelligence community does not believe it can resolve a debate over whether a Chinese laboratory incident was the source of COVID-19 without more information, U.S. officials said in a declassified summary. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Turkey's coronavirus-related deaths neared the highest level since mid-May, while new cases dipped on Friday. * Germany will make up to 70 million doses of vaccine available to African countries this year, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

U.S. coronavirus hospitalizations breached an eight-month peak of 100,000, while the European Union moved to reinstate travel curbs for unvaccinated citizens of the United States and five other countries, two diplomats told Reuters. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news EUROPE

* Britain reported the highest number of new cases in just over a month during the past seven days, government figures showed. * Production of Moderna vaccines at a plant in Spain can continue, the European Union drugs regulator said, while it carries out its investigation of a suspected metallic contamination incident.

* Poland will give third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to people with weak immune systems. * The Italian health minister signed an executive order imposing mandatory mask-wearing outdoors in the southern region of Sicily as of Monday.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India administered more than 10 million vaccine doses on Friday, a national record that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as a "momentous feat" even as the country reported more than 40,000 new infections for two days in a row.

* New Zealand extended restrictions by four days after which they will be eased slightly, although businesses and schools will remain shut and the biggest city Auckland will be locked down for longer. AMERICAS

* U.S. federal health authorities are discussing shortening the timeline for COVID-19 booster shots to allow additional doses sooner than the eight-month window officials have been targeting, President Joe Biden said. * Canada authorized the use of Moderna's vaccine in adolescents.

* The White House said half of children aged 12 to 17 have received at least their first vaccination dose, and that age group has the fastest growth rate in vaccinations. * The U.S. intelligence community does not believe it can resolve a debate over whether a Chinese laboratory incident was the source of COVID-19 without more information, U.S. officials said in a declassified summary.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Turkey's coronavirus-related deaths neared the highest level since mid-May, while new cases dipped on Friday.

* Germany will make up to 70 million doses of vaccine available to African countries this year, Chancellor Angela Merkel said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Among 1,276 patients hospitalized in China early in the pandemic, 49% still had at least one symptom 12 months after first becoming ill, researchers reported in the Lancet. * A COVID-19 vaccine developed by a unit of China's Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products showed an 81.76% efficacy rate against COVID-19 cases of any degree of severity in a large, late-stage trial.

* Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have created a facemask using silver and copper nanolayers that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, the university's official gazette said. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Wall Street stocks soared while U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its bond buying program by year-end but did not give a firm timeline. (Compiled by Devika Syamnath, Veronica Snoj and Aditya Soni; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta, Barbara Lewis and Arun Koyyur)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)