(Reuters) – India overtook Brazil as the second-worst hit country by the COVID-19, Malaysia reported its sharpest rise in new cases in three months, and South Korea weighed whether to extend curbs ahead of a national holiday.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India overtook Brazil in infection numbers but the government resumed underground train services and announced plans to re-open the Taj Mahal this month.
* South Korea reported its lowest tally of new infections in more than three weeks, but officials are weighing whether to extend social distancing curbs ahead of one of the country’s biggest holidays this month.
* Malaysia reported its sharpest rise in cases since early June, just as the government began barring long-term immigration pass holders from countries with high infection numbers.
* Australia expects to receive its first batches of a potential COVID-19 vaccine in January, its prime minister said.
EUROPE
* Britain is working to reduce the 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from countries including Spain and France.
* The limit on public gatherings will be lowered to 50 people from 100 in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen and in Odense, after a recent spike in infections.
* Sweden will boost funding for elderly care by around $500 million in its 2021 budget after the number of deaths in old people’s homes during the pandemic sparked concern.
AMERICAS
* Cases are rising in 22 of the 50 U.S. states, according to a Reuters analysis, a worrying trend on a Labour Day holiday weekend traditionally filled with family gatherings and parties to mark the end of summer.
* Honduran finance minister said on Sunday he had tested positive for coronavirus.
* Five percent of Brazilians would refuse under any circumstances to take a vaccine against the coronavirus and a further 20% indicated they might not take it, according to a survey published in newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would emerge from the pandemic with a stronger economy, urging Turks to follow social distancing and hygiene measures amid a rise in cases and deaths.
* Oman will restart international flights on Oct. 1, state news agency ONA said on Twitter.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Russia will begin offering its COVID-19 vaccine to volunteers this week as part of a trial following the vaccine’s registration, the TASS news agency quoted the health minister as saying.
* Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Sinopharm Group to supply a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by German firm BioNTech.
* BioNTech has widened an ongoing pivotal global study of its vaccine candidate to include testing in Germany.
* Australian biotech giant CSL Ltd said it would manufacture two different COVID-19 vaccine candidates, with the earliest doses due to reach the market early next year.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* World shares inched higher led by Europe, after last week’s rout in U.S. technology stocks that saw $2.3 trillion in value wiped off in two days with investors taking note of lofty valuations when the global economy is still in a recession.
* China’s exports rose for the third consecutive month in August, eclipsing an extended fall in imports, as more of its trading partners relaxed lockdowns.
(Compiled by Milla Nissi and Devika Syamnath; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Angus MacSwan)
