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Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus

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Japan will lift its state of emergency in all regions as the number of new COVID-19 cases falls.
Camera IconJapan will lift its state of emergency in all regions as the number of new COVID-19 cases falls. Credit: AP

EUROPE

* The world's poorest countries have said they may struggle to meet visa requirements and cover all COVID-19 quarantine costs for the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, raising concerns that some might not be able to attend in person.

AMERICAS

* US President Joe Biden rolled up his shirt sleeve for a vaccine booster inoculation on Monday, hoping to provide a powerful example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even as millions go without their first.

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* New York hospitals began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to get the vaccine, and resulting staff shortages prompted some hospitals to postpone elective surgeries or curtail services.

* Chilean authorities announced the end of a state of emergency in force since the start of the pandemic, a sign of life returning to normal following a sharp decrease in cases in the country.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia is on track to hit the crucial milestone of 80 per cent vaccination coverage in mid-November and could reach 90 per cent just weeks after that.

* Japan will lift a state of emergency in all regions on Thursday as the number of new cases falls, while India reported the smallest daily rise in deaths since mid-March.

* Foreign visitors in Thailand are expected at about 280,000 this year, down from half a million projected earlier, as the country suffers a prolonged coronavirus outbreak.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein has contracted coronavirus and his parents King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who tested negative, will protectively self-isolate for five days, the palace said.

* Jordan will fully reopen its main border crossing with Syria from Wednesday, government and industry officials said, as a high-level Syrian team arrived in Amman to discuss how to ease the flow of goods hit by the pandemic and a decade of conflict.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Pfizer said it has started a large study testing its investigational oral antiviral drug for the prevention of infection among those who have been exposed to the virus.

* French healthcare company Sanofi has announced positive Phase I/II study interim results for its first mRNA-based vaccine candidate.

* The European Union's drug regulator said it was evaluating whether a booster dose of Moderna's vaccine could be given at least six months after the second shot of the two-dose course in people over 12 years of age.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares were mixed across the region on Tuesday as investors fretted over China Evergrande Group's debt crisis and a widening power shortage in China.

* Profits at China's industrial firms grew at a weaker pace in August from a year earlier, slowing for a sixth consecutive month, as manufacturers struggled with high commodity prices, COVID-19 outbreaks and shortages of some key components.

* Some Bank of Japan policymakers warned of the risk of a delay in the country's economic recovery as state of emergency curbs to combat the pandemic weighed on consumption.

* The East Asia and Pacific region's recovery has been undermined by the spread of the Delta variant, which is likely slowing economic growth and increasing inequality in the region, the World Bank said.

GLOBAL

DEATHS 4,770,081

CASES 233,122,775

RECOVERED 209,854,212

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