(Reuters) – As Australia’s COVID-19 deaths exceed 1,000, a grim toll but modest by global standards, a country that has used relentless lockdowns now faces perhaps its biggest health policy challenge of the pandemic – how to reopen.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* Several thousand people marched through the streets of Berlin on Sunday for a second day of unauthorised protest against coronavirus vaccinations and restrictions aimed at curbing a fourth wave of the pandemic.
* Katalin Kariko, the Hungarian-born scientist who laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines fighting COVID-19, has been recognised in her homeland in the form of a huge mural in central Budapest.
* Italy reported 37 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 54 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 5,959 from 6,860, the health ministry said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia’s most populous state New South Wales will hit a peak in intensive care hospitalisations in October as cases accumulate, amid reporting of a record daily rise in new infections on Monday.
* China reported 23 confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug. 29, down from 33 a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission on Monday.
* Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has lengthened coronavirus restrictions in the capital region and some provinces, his spokesperson said, as the Southeast Asian nation logged a new record in daily COVID-19 infections.
* Thailand expects to have 140 million doses of coronavirus vaccines this year as the country ramps up inoculation to fight its biggest wave of infections, which shows some signs of easing, a government spokesman said on Sunday.
* New Zealand reported 83 locally acquired cases on Sunday of the Delta coronavirus variant, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying that some changes on how the outbreak is managed could be announced on Monday.
* India reported 45,083 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, according to data from the health ministry, driven by surging cases in the southern state of Kerala.
AMERICAS
* Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he supports COVID-19 vaccine mandates for children attending schools as the Delta variant continues to fuel a surge in cases in the nation.
* U.S. health officials decided to resume the supply of Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody cocktail to states where variants resistant to it are low, saying the therapy could work against the Delta based on lab studies.
* Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Apple Inc supplier Foxconn, has asked BioNTech SE to reserve 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for Taiwan, saying he had received a “very good” response.
* The National Basketball Association will require referees working games during the coming season to be vaccinated against coronavirus, the league said on Saturday.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* People who get the Delta variant of the coronavirus are twice as likely to be hospitalised as those who were infected by the Alpha variant which was first detected in England last year, a study showed on Friday.
* The varying impacts of COVID-19 among ethnic groups might be partially due to genetic differences in the cell-surface protein the virus uses as a gateway, an international research team found.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Growth in China’s factory activity likely cooled further in August, a Reuters poll showed, as COVID-related restrictions and high raw material prices continued to pressure manufacturers and the economy lost momentum.
* The Australian economy was likely already slowing before wide-scale coronavirus restrictions shuttered swathes of business and jobs, setting the stage for a vicious contraction this quarter.
* Japan’s retail sales rose for a fifth straight month in July, beating expectations as the consumer sector continued its recovery, although a coronavirus resurgence has cast doubts over the spending outlook.
(Compiled by Sherry Jacob-Phillips; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
