FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* The immune response to COVID-19 helps protect against reinfection, but that protection is weaker against Omicron than it was against earlier variants of the coronavirus, according to new data. ECONOMIC IMPACT * Euro zone economic growth slowed sharply quarter-on-quarter as expected in the last three months of 2021, data confirmed, as activity was hit by another wave of infections and surging prices that cut into disposable incomes. * German investor sentiment rose in February on expectations that restrictions to contain COVID-19 will ease, allowing growth in Europe's largest economy to pick up, a survey showed.

A new wave of infections from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is moving towards the east of Europe, the World Health Organization said, urging authorities to improve vaccination and other measures. 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

* Germany can start easing restrictions now that a wave of infections with the Omicron variant is subsiding, its health minister said. AMERICAS

* Canada is planning to impose emergency measures not used for more than 50 years to cut off funding for truckers responsible for nationwide COVID-19 protests that have gridlocked the nation's capital for weeks. * Washington, D.C. will no longer require people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter many businesses starting Tuesday, its mayor said, joining a slew of local leaders who are dialling back pandemic restrictions as the Omicron wave ebbs.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam ruled out a citywide lockdown, but a surge of infections meant she could not "preclude" the possibility of postponing next month's chief executive election.

* Vietnam's tourism ministry proposed a full reopening of the country to foreign visitors and a lifting of nearly all travel restrictions from March 15, three months earlier than planned. * A major Chinese high-tech industry centre limited some highway access after detecting new COVID-19 cases, while epidemic control measures, including mass testing, affected the local operations of overseas firms such as Robert Bosch GmbH.

* Thousands of nurses in Australia's most populous state walked off the job for the first time in nearly a decade to begin a 24-hour strike after talks with the government to plug staff shortages and secure a pay rise failed. AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

* Israel will start offering AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail Evusheld to people with compromised immune systems who did not get a sufficient antibody boost from vaccines. * Kuwait's cabinet has lifted many COVID-19 restrictions including a ban on foreign travel, a move that will also apply to those who are not vaccinated.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * A Chinese mRNA vaccine candidate showed a sharper drop in neutralizing antibody activity against Omicron than against the non-mutated coronavirus in a small study, but a booster readily induced antibody production in animal tests, a research paper said.

* Oxford University scientists said they would evaluate the effects of new coronavirus variants on pregnant women and newborns, as well as COVID-19 vaccination effects on complications during pregnancy and after birth. * The immune response to COVID-19 helps protect against reinfection, but that protection is weaker against Omicron than it was against earlier variants of the coronavirus, according to new data.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Euro zone economic growth slowed sharply quarter-on-quarter as expected in the last three months of 2021, data confirmed, as activity was hit by another wave of infections and surging prices that cut into disposable incomes.

* German investor sentiment rose in February on expectations that restrictions to contain COVID-19 will ease, allowing growth in Europe's largest economy to pick up, a survey showed. * Japan's economy rebounded in the final three months of 2021 as falling coronavirus cases helped prop up consumption, though rising raw material costs and a spike in new Omicron variant infections cloud the outlook.

(Compiled by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Milla Nissi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Mark Heinrich)

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