(Reuters) – A top World Health Organization official said on Monday the WHO cannot compel China to divulge more data on COVID-19’s origins, while adding it will propose studies needed to take understanding of where the virus emerged to the “next level”.
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
EUROPE
* Portugal’s foreign minister said Spain’s decision to require a negative COVID-19 test for people crossing the border must have been an error.
* Denmark researchers are using virtual reality to encourage more COVID-19 vaccinations, through a game of maneuvering through a virus-infected crowd in a city square.
* British health minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday it was too early to say whether the government would stick to its plan to fully lift lockdown restrictions in England on June 21.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India will provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all adults, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as key Indian cities re-opened for business after a devastating second wave.
* India may raise spending on COVID-19 shots by over a quarter this fiscal year to up to 450 billion rupees ($6.18 billion) from its budgeted amount, two government sources told Reuters.
* The Philippines will this week start vaccinating around 35 million people working outside their homes, such as public transport staff, in a bid to curb COVID-19 transmission and open up the economy, officials said.
AMERICAS
* President Joe Biden’s meeting with leaders of the G7 leading industrial economies in an English seaside village this week will usher in a new focus on rallying U.S. allies against common adversaries – the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia and China.
* Ontario will loosen COVID-19 restrictions starting June 11, three days ahead of schedule, Premier Doug Ford announced, as infection rates continue to drift lower after a punishing third wave while vaccinations pick up pace.
* Top WHO emergencies official Mike Ryan, when asked about Brazil hosting the Copa America soccer tournament, said he would advise any country undertaking mass gathering be extremely careful to manage risks.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he hopes African COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing sites will be identified and some even close to producing by the end of 2021, in the race to deliver more shots to the continent.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Drugmaker Moderna Inc said it has submitted applications to the European and Canadian health regulators seeking authorization for the expanded use of its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents.
* The European Medicines Agency pushed guidance for doctors not to use the blood thinner heparin to treat rare blood clots and low blood platelets in people who got AstraZeneca’s or Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 shots.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* A gauge of global equity markets closed at a record high on Monday as technology shares took in stride a deal by the world’s richest nations on a corporate tax aimed at U.S. tech heavyweights, and oil prices jumped to a two-year high. [MKTS/GLOB]
(Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Anita Kobylinska and Linda Pasquini; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson and Anil D’Silva)
