(Reuters) – Hong Kong’s new leader said the city will look into shortening COVID-19 quarantine requirements for travellers, while parts of eastern China are running fresh rounds of mass COVID-19 testing, as the country faces new waves of infections.
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
* Hong Kong will look into shortening COVID-19 quarantine requirements for travellers, while still aiming to curb the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, the city’s new leader John Lee said on Tuesday.
* Macau reported 89 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total to more than 900 infections since mid-June, as authorities in the world’s biggest gambling hub race to contain its largest outbreak since the pandemic began.
EUROPE
* The number of new COVID-19 infections in Romania nearly doubled over the last week, with a peak of 10,000 daily cases expected in mid-August, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Monday.
* Russia will lift COVID-19 restrictions on entry into the country starting on July 15, the government’s coronavirus task force said on Monday.
AMERICAS
* U.S. health regulators will not require companies to submit new clinical trial data on COVID-19 vaccines that target the now dominant BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants to authorize those shots, but will instead rely on studies showing the efficacy of targeting the earlier BA.1 subvariant, a top official said on Thursday.
AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
* Thousands of pilgrims started arriving in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Friday, among some one million Muslims expected to attend the 2022 haj pilgrimage season after two years of major disruption caused by the pandemic.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Coronavirus vaccines tweaked to include the Omicron variant strain can improve protection when used as a booster, the European Medicines Agency and other global health regulators said.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* China will set up a state infrastructure investment fund worth 500 billion yuan ($74.69 billion) to spur infrastructure spending and revive a flagging economy, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
* South Korea’s inflation last month hit the highest since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago, adding to signs of building strains on the open, trade-dependent economy and fanning expectations of a big rate hike by the central bank.
* Asian shares inched up on Tuesday morning as positive economic data and hints of easing Sino-U.S. tensions offered some respite to the recent sell-offs, though persistent fears about a global recession and sky-high inflation kept most buyers at bay. [MKTS/GLOB]
(Compiled by Amy Caren Daniel; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
