FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* North Korea is on the path to "finally defuse" a crisis stemming from its first acknowledged outbreak of COVID-19, the state news agency said, while Asian neighbours battle a fresh wave of infections driven by Omicron subvariants. * China reported 598 new coronavirus cases for July 17, of which 167 were symptomatic and 431 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said.

Macau kicked off the 11th round of COVID-19 testing for residents on Monday, as the world's biggest casino hub extended a lockdown of casinos and other businesses in the fight against its worst outbreak since the pandemic began. 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 Indian government's COVID-19 vaccinations hit 2 billion on Sunday, with booster doses underway for all adults, as daily infections hit a four-month high, official data showed. * Japan's daily COVID-19 infections hit a record of more than 110,000, the Jiji news agency reported on Saturday. Faced with a seventh COVID wave, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has urged the public to exercise maximum vigilance.

* Shanghai will require residents across nine of the city's districts and some smaller areas to undergo testing for COVID-19 over July 19-21 to stem any community spread of the virus, the city government said. * North Korea is on the path to "finally defuse" a crisis stemming from its first acknowledged outbreak of COVID-19, the state news agency said, while Asian neighbors battle a fresh wave of infections driven by Omicron subvariants.

* China reported 598 new coronavirus cases for July 17, of which 167 were symptomatic and 431 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said. EUROPE

* An estimated 3.5 million people in Britain had COVID-19 in the latest week of available data, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday, up nearly 30% from the 2.7 million recorded in the previous week. * British athlete Morgan Lake was forced to pull out of the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday after the 25-year-old tested positive for COVID-19.

* The Czech Republic will begin offering second COVID-19 boosters from July 18, recommending the shot for people over 60 and those in risk groups, the Health Ministry said. AMERICAS

* Canada authorized Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine for babies as young as 6 months old, making it the country's first vaccine against coronavirus for children under 5, Health Canada said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Patients with long COVID may see some improvement after breathing pure oxygen in a high-air-pressure environment, according to data from a small Israeli trial. * The European Medicines Agency identified severe allergic reactions as potential side-effects of Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, a day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of the shot.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * China's economy is facing pressure due to COVID-19 and external shocks, and the central bank will "increase implementation of prudent monetary policy" to support the real economy, China's central bank Governor Yi Gang said.

* New Zealand's consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in three decades, beating forecasts and raising the prospect of an unprecedented 75-basis-point interest rate hike at the central bank's policy meeting next month. * Asian shares inched higher on Monday following a much-needed bounce on Wall Street, but nerves are stretched ahead of a near-certain interest rate hike in Europe and another round of corporate earnings reports.