FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* New York Mayor Eric Adams said he was lifting the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for professional athletes and performers. EUROPE * Germany's health minister urged people over 60 years with risk factors such as high blood pressure or a weak heart to get a second booster shot to reduce their risk of getting seriously ill. * French health authorities said the number of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 were down by 38 over 24 hours, at 20,616, but on a week-on-week basis, that figure was up for the second day running, after declining by that measure since early February.

After producing vaccines and treatments for acute COVID-19 in record time, researchers and drugmakers are turning to finding a cure for long COVID, a more elusive target marked by hundreds of different symptoms afflicting millions of people. 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. AMERICAS

* The U.S. Supreme Court granted a request by President Joe Biden's administration to let the Navy decline to deploy SEALs and other special operations forces personnel who refused mandatory COVID-19 vaccination due to religious objections. * New York Mayor Eric Adams said he was lifting the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for professional athletes and performers.

EUROPE * Germany's health minister urged people over 60 years with risk factors such as high blood pressure or a weak heart to get a second booster shot to reduce their risk of getting seriously ill.

* French health authorities said the number of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 were down by 38 over 24 hours, at 20,616, but on a week-on-week basis, that figure was up for the second day running, after declining by that measure since early February. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Shanghai's approach to tackling coronavirus outbreaks is coming under strain as new cases rise in the Chinese metropolis, with authorities reluctant to impose a comprehensive lockdown as other cities have done. * Australia will roll out a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines to its most vulnerable population starting next month, as the country looks to limit fresh outbreaks ahead of winter.

* Hong Kong will gradually resume public services from April 1, with the city posting its lowest number of daily infections in about a month. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A year after infection with the coronavirus, when antibodies in the blood are barely detectable, the immune system continues to "remember" the virus and should respond to some extent upon re-encountering it, a study from China suggests. * The U.S. health regulator said on Friday the current authorised dose of GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology's antibody-based COVID-19 treatment is unlikely to be effective against the Omicron BA.2 variant.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * The economic impact of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing pandemic on the U.S. and global economies remains unclear, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said.

* British consumer confidence sank to levels last seen in late 2020 this month due to worries about galloping inflation, higher interest rates and the war in Ukraine, a survey showed. (Compiled by Devika Syamnath; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta)

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