Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

[June 06, 2022]  (Reuters) - Major Chinese cities looked to further relax COVID-19 curbs in a bid to steadily return to normalcy after months of stringent lockdowns, while in the United States, airlines are ramping up efforts to get the international COVID-19 testing rule dropped.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

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ASIA-PACIFIC

* Beijing will further relax COVID-19 curbs by allowing indoor dining, as China's capital steadily returns to normal with inflections falling, state media said on Sunday.

* South Korea will lift its quarantine requirement for foreign arrivals without vaccination from June 8 and also start lifting aviation regulations imposed for international flights.

* India approved Hyderabad-based drugmaker Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine as the first mix-and-match booster dose in the country, the company said on Saturday.
 

* North Korea reported some 73,780 more people with fever symptoms amid its first-ever coronavirus outbreak, North Korean state media KCNA said on Sunday.

EUROPE

* Princess Charlene of Monaco, who had been away from the principality for months due to health issues, has tested positive for COVID-19, as the number of cases in neighbouring France begin to rise again.

AMERICAS

* U.S. airlines are stepping up their efforts to get the Biden administration to end COVID-19 pre-departure testing requirements for international air travel.

* Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his newly wed wife Janja tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and will remain isolated for the next few days, the leftist leader and front-runner for the October election said on Twitter.

People wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as they take a walk on a sunny spring day in Seoul, South Korea, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/ Heo Ran

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

* The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed 75 million euros ($80 million) to finance construction of a new facility in Senegal that will produce COVID-19 and other vaccines for use across Africa.

* Deaths on the African continent from COVID-19 are expected to fall by nearly 94% in 2022 compared to last year, modelling by the World Health Organization showed.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Pfizer Inc's antiviral treatment Paxlovid reduces COVID-19 hospitalisation and death rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients 65 years and older, according to a new study in Israel conducted during the rise of the Omicron variant.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration raised concerns about a possible risk of heart inflammation from Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, even as the company's data showed it could reduce the chances of mild-to-severe disease.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* China's services activity contracted for a third straight month in May, pointing to a slow recovery ahead despite the easing of some COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and neighbouring cities, a private business survey showed.

(Compiled by Shailesh Kuber, Olivier Sorgho, and Uttaresh.V; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shounak Dasgupta)

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