FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Parts of Asia looked to crack down on rising COVID-19 cases by conducting mass tests, while public health agencies in the United States approved the use of vaccines in young children and in Europe began the review of a variant-adapted vaccine.

Parts of Asia looked to crack down on rising COVID-19 cases by conducting mass tests, while public health agencies in the United States approved the use of vaccines in young children and in Europe began the review of a variant-adapted vaccine. 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 the news. ASIA-PACIFIC

* The world's biggest gambling hub Macau began its second day of mass COVID-19 testing on Monday after dozens of locally transmitted cases were discovered over the weekend, with most businesses shut but casinos remaining open. * Thailand would abandon its much-criticized pre-registration process for foreign visitors and no longer require face masks to be worn in public.

* North Korea recorded another 18,820 new fever cases amid its first official COVID-19 outbreak, state news agency KCNA said on Monday. EUROPE

* There will not be another attempt to make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory, said German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, while making the case for more people to get a second booster shot. * The European Medicines Agency (EMA) started a rolling review of a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna, as coronavirus cases linked to Omicron sub-variants see an uptick in the region.

AMERICAS * The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday recommended COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as six months.

* U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan tested positive for COVID-19, a week before he is due to accompany President Joe Biden to a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced economies. AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

* King Mohammed VI of Morocco has tested positive for COVID-19 but has exhibited no symptoms, his doctor said on Thursday. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A modified coronavirus vaccine that targets the Omicron variant can be administered as a booster dose to broaden immunity, a technical advisory group set up by the World Health Organization said. * People infected with the earliest version of the Omicron variant, first identified in South Africa in November, may be vulnerable to reinfection with later versions of Omicron even if they have been vaccinated and boosted, new findings suggest.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Shanghai's economy contracted for a second month in May although, at a somewhat slower pace, data from the local statistics bureau showed on Friday, weighing on the commercial hub's recovery prospects following a two-month COVID lockdown.