FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* China's COVID-19 vaccines are safe and have been given to leaders of the state and ruling Communist Party, officials said on Saturday, as Beijing steps up efforts to allay public concerns about safety that risk hampering its vaccination drive. * Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki will be on home quarantine on Monday after a family member tested positive for COVID-19.

The number of Australians admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 hit a record of about 5,450 on Monday, official data showed, as the spread of highly contagious new Omicron sub-variants strains the healthcare system nationwide. 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. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Shanghai ordered residents across nine of the city's districts and some smaller areas to do COVID-19 tests from July 26-28, as sporadic local cases kept emerging in the Chinese commercial hub. * China's COVID-19 vaccines are safe and have been given to leaders of the state and ruling Communist Party, officials said on Saturday, as Beijing steps up efforts to allay public concerns about safety that risk hampering its vaccination drive.

* Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki will be on home quarantine on Monday after a family member tested positive for COVID-19. * New Zealanders are dying from COVID-19 at record rates as the country battles a new wave of the Omicron strain that is particularly affecting the older population.

EUROPE * Spain's Enric Mas has pulled out of the Tour de France after contracting COVID-19, according to his Movistar team.

AMERICAS * U.S. President Joe Biden's condition since contracting COVID-19 has improved considerably and his greatest symptom now is a sore throat, his physician said on Sunday.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * An experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the form of an oral tablet has shown promising immune responses in a small preliminary trial designed mainly to evaluate its safety, according to drug manufacturer Vaxart Inc.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * China will make great efforts to consolidate its economic recovery, putting a priority on stabilizing employment and prices, state media reported.

* The Japanese government is expected to cut its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2022 to about 2%, reflecting weakness in private consumption as a renewed spike in COVID-19 infections clouds the outlook. 

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