FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

5 deadline for corporate employees to return to office at least three days a week, a Bloomberg News report said on Monday. 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 Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said he expects an Omicron-specific vaccine in the country in six months, NDTV reported.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said on Tuesday, adding that President Joe Biden has continued to test negative after recently recovering from 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 Monday, of which 591 were symptomatic and 1,935 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said. * Shanghai reported three new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Monday, 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. 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. * Greenhouse gas emissions across the European Union rose in the first quarter from a year earlier, but remained just below pre-pandemic levels, the bloc's statistics office said on Tuesday.

* Britain recorded its biggest rise in foreign workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year to June, driven overwhelmingly by workers from outside the EU, official figures showed on Tuesday. AMERICAS

* U.S. CDC says Omicron subvariant BA.5 represents 88.8% of total cases in the country as of the week ended on Saturday. * 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.

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 Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said he expects an Omicron-specific vaccine in the country in six months, NDTV reported. * 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 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 above.

* German investor sentiment fell slightly in August on concerns the rising cost of living will hit private consumption, and suggesting Europe's largest economy is tipping into recession. (Compiled by Valentine Baldassari and Subhranshu Sahu)

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