Seventy-six wealthy nations are now committed to joining a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to help buy and fairly distribute the shots.
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.
* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
* The weekly number of positive cases in England in late August was the highest since the end of May, the latest data from the test and trace scheme showed.
* The Czech Republic reported 650 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, its highest number for a single day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Thailand reported its first domestic coronavirus transmission in more than 100 days on Thursday, after a man recently jailed and with no overseas travel history tested positive in a Bangkok prison during a routine check for new inmates.
* Indonesia posted another day of record high cases on Thursday, with 3,622 new infections.
* China has offered experimental vaccines to aviation industry workers, in a push to inoculate high-risk groups to prevent a possible resurgence as economies reopen.
* India reported another record daily jump of 83,883 infections, taking its tally to 3.85 million, just 100,000 behind Brazil, the world’s second most affected nation.
AMERICAS
* White House Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Thursday there is no political pressure on the U.S. drugs regulator to quickly approve a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus disease, after drugmakers and the Centers for Disease Control suggested one could be ready just ahead of the November presidential election.
* Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll appears to be easing for the first time since May, data shows, a sign the country could be descending from a long infection plateau.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Israel will impose a partial national lockdown next week to battle a coronavirus infection surge, the head of its pandemic task force said on Thursday.
* South Africa’s auditor general said that some of the money in its 500 billion rand ($30 billion) COVID-19 relief package may have been fraudulently paid to improper beneficiaries.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday its experimental coronavirus vaccine prevented hamsters from getting severely ill, as the drugmaker seeks to begin large, late-stage studies in humans later this month.
* Britain is putting 500 million pounds ($666 million) into trials of rapid COVID-19 tests and into population-testing for the disease, the health ministry said on Thursday.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* France will spend 100 billion euros to help pull its economy out of one of Europe’s worst coronavirus-induced slumps.
* The euro zone’s rebound from its deepest economic downturn on record faltered in August, with some countries in the bloc suffering from restrictions more than others.
* Europe kept record high world share markets marching forward on Thursday, while the dollar was in fightback mode and government bonds steadied after European Central Bank efforts to tame the euro.
* U.S. employers announced another 115,762 job cuts in August, led by struggling airlines as the pandemic weighs on travel and financial assistance from the government lapses.
* Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga signaled readiness to compile a third extra budget to respond to the pandemic if he succeeds outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
(Compiled by Anita Kobylinska, Uttaresh.V and Vinay Dwivedi; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Maju Samuel)
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
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