FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* The European health regulator endorsed the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine, Vaxzevria, as a booster. ASIA-PACIFIC * China has removed some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries such as Britain and the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine for some inbound travellers, as it fine-tunes measures to cope with the Omicron variant. * North Korea's first confirmed outbreak spread after a massive military parade in Pyongyang in April, the South's Newsis news agency said on Wednesday, citing lawmakers briefed by the South's spy agency.


Reuters | Updated: 19-05-2022 22:16 IST | Created: 19-05-2022 22:16 IST
FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months. Moreover, a deputy mayor said the financial hub will start to allow more businesses in zero-COVID areas to resume normal operations from the beginning of June. 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's vaccine advisers said that an anticipated autumn COVID booster campaign would be aimed at people over age 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all adults in a clinical risk group. * The European health regulator endorsed the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine, Vaxzevria, as a booster.

ASIA-PACIFIC * China has removed some COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries such as Britain and the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine for some inbound travellers, as it fine-tunes measures to cope with the Omicron variant.

* North Korea's first confirmed outbreak spread after a massive military parade in Pyongyang in April, the South's Newsis news agency said on Wednesday, citing lawmakers briefed by the South's spy agency. * North Korea is ramping up production of drugs and medical supplies including sterilisers and thermometers, state media KCNA said.

* India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to Cambodia and Thailand under an initiative of the Quad group of countries, New Delhi said, though not the Johnson & Johnson shot as originally planned. AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

* Several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the COVID pandemic while the world's attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the United States are a concern, Africa's top public health agency said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) said reports of heart inflammation linked to the Pfizer /BioNTech vaccine have been much lower in 5- to 11-year-old boys than in adolescents and young men. * The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will act as soon as possible on Moderna Inc's application seeking approval of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5, the agency's chief told lawmakers.

* The World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China-based CanSino Biologics. * The question of COVID-19 vaccine patents was not discussed at a meeting of the health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Berlin, German Health Ministers Karl Lauterbach said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures fell on Thursday, hit by worries about COVID-19 curbs in China, but Beijing's assurance that there is still policy space to cope with challenges facing the world's top steel producer calmed traders.

* A sharp slowdown in China's economy caused by its strict zero-COVID rules and Beijing's shift away from a traditional reliance on external demand have cast doubts over how much the country will contribute to future global trade and investment. * Roughly half of Taiwanese companies that had previously suspended work in China due to COVID-19 control measures have resumed production as curbs ease, the island's economy minister said.

(Compiled by Dina Kartit; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Lisa Shumaker)

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

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