(Reuters) – China said the World Health Organization had given it its blessing to start administering experimental coronavirus vaccines to people while clinical trials were still underway, and Brazil decided to join the global vaccine partnership COVAX.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3mQfPch in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with a state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* Over 80% of people in Britain are not adhering to self-isolation guidelines when they have COVID-19 symptoms or had contact with someone who has tested positive, a study has found.
* Hundreds of restaurant owners and bar staff protested outside Marseille’s commercial court against a government order to shut from Saturday.
* The mayor of Moscow urged businesses to get more people to work from home as Russia’s daily tally of new cases hit its highest since June 23.
* Poland reported a record daily rise in new cases for the second consecutive day, with the biggest spike in the central region of the country.
AMERICAS
* U.S. coronavirus cases topped 7 million, accounting for more than 20% of the world’s total.
* Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are working on a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that could be voted on next week.
* Mexico surpassed 75,000 confirmed deaths, as the pandemic ravages Latin American nations with large informal economies where workers have grappled with the twin threats of hunger and contagion.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China’s annual production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to reach 610 million doses by the end of the year, the country’s National Health Commission said.
* Japan will allow long-term foreign residents and foreign students back into the country from October.
* South Korea said it would impose tighter restrictions during the Chuseok autumn holiday weeks when people traditionally reunite with families, flagging the risks of new clusters of infections.
* Indonesia reported its biggest daily rise in infections for a third successive day.
* Health authorities in China’s eastern city of Qingdao have found coronavirus contamination on some packages stored by a seafood importer.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF are discussing the joint production of a vaccine against COVID-19, Russian news agencies cited the Iranian ambassador to Moscow as saying.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Japanese researchers have developed a blood test they say appears to serve as an early warning system for serious cases of COVID-19.
* An experimental vaccine developed by China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals appeared to be safe and able to trigger immune responses in animal tests, researchers said.
* Novavax started a late-stage trial of its experimental vaccine in the UK in partnership with the government’s Vaccines Taskforce.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Oil prices edged higher but were set for a weekly decline due to mounting worries about the impact on fuel demand of a widespread resurgence in coronavirus infections, as well as some concern about the likely return of exports from Libya.
* Australia said it would ease lending standards for banks in a move designed to free up credit and revive the economy.
* G7 finance ministers are expected to signal their support for extending a debt relief programme aimed at helping the poorest countries weather the pandemic, three people briefed on the issue said.
(Compiled by Milla Nissi and Devika Syamnath; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Tomasz Janowski)
