FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus


Reuters | Updated: 16-08-2022 08:50 IST | Created: 16-08-2022 08:50 IST
FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 ASIA-PACIFIC

* China reported 2,526 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 15, of which 591 were symptomatic and 1,935 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday. * Shanghai reported three new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Aug. 15, down from five a day earlier, while no local symptomatic cases were reported, versus one the day before, the city government said.

* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor Scott Morrison had "undermined our democracy" by secretly appointing himself minister for home affairs and treasury during the pandemic, in addition to the health, finance and resources portfolios previously revealed. * About 2.3 million people in the Philippines were pushed into poverty between 2018 and 2021, rising to a total of almost 20 million, or 18.1% of the population, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

EUROPE * The United Kingdom's COVID booster campaign is set to kick off this September, after the country became the first in the world to approve an Omicron-adapted shot.

AMERICAS * U.S. CDC says Omicron subvariant BA.5 represents 88.8% of total cases in the country, as of the week ended Aug. 13.

* U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time this year. * Apple Inc has set a Sept. 5 deadline for corporate employees to return to office at least three days a week, a Bloomberg News report said on Monday.

* Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing very mild symptoms. MEDICAL IMPACT

* Novavax Inc said on Monday it had filed for U.S. authorization for use of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose in people who had either received its shots or a different vaccine. * Serum Institute of India (SII) Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said he expects an Omicron-specific vaccine in the country in six months, NDTV reported on Monday.

* India's Bharat Biotech has completed clinical development for late-stage trials and booster doses for intranasal vaccine. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian markets struggled for direction on Tuesday, weighed by worries over global growth following weak China data that knocked oil prices and commodity-linked currencies. * Economic activity in Brazil rose more than expected in June, a central bank index showed, contributing to a second-quarter rally helped by a service sector rebound following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

* A scramble for labour in South Korea, where unemployment hit a near-record low of 2.9% in July, has led to a surge in the number of elderly people in the workforce with 58% of the job increases driven by people aged 60 and older. (Compiled by Alessandro Parodi and Subhranshu Sahu; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Sriraj Kalluvila)

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

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