(Reuters) – Australia can proceed with its reopening plans when the country reaches 70%-80% vaccination levels, the government’s pandemic modelling adviser said, even as some states hinted they may not ease border curbs if Sydney fails to control its Delta outbreak.
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
* French health authorities said the number of people hospitalised for COVID-19 and those treated in intensive care units stood at the highest levels in more than two months.
* Germany has decided to stop using the coronavirus infection rate as its yardstick for deciding if restrictions should be in force, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* New Zealand recorded its highest increase in COVID-19 cases since April 2020, but authorities said the numbers were not rising exponentially and the majority of the cases were still centred in Auckland where the recent outbreak started.
* Indonesia will start reopening restaurants, malls and places of worship in some areas including the capital Jakarta, as new cases have fallen sharply from their peak and vaccinations rise.
AMERICAS
* New York City will require public school teachers and staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, part of a push to get more residents inoculated and slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
* U.S. energy companies are moving to require that employees receive COVID-19 vaccinations as infection rates rise across the United States and health surveys show that energy workers remain among those most reluctant to get inoculations.
* The Canadian province of British Columbia will require patrons of non-essential businesses such as restaurants and movie theatres to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from Sept. 13, the government said.
* The Pentagon is preparing to issue updated guidance to require all U.S. service personnel to be vaccinated after Monday’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said.
* Ahead of next month’s Canadian federal elections, most of the contenders doing the rounds will be vaccinated – but not all of them.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Egypt will vaccinate all 4.5 million of its state employees in August and September as it seeks to accelerate vaccinations ahead of a likely fourth wave.
* The Biden administration is working on offering vaccines to refugees from Afghanistan, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The U.S. drug regulator on Monday granted full approval to the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, prompting President Joe Biden to make a fresh pitch to vaccine skeptics to get the shot to fight the relentless pandemic.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks rose on Tuesday on an extended bounce on Wall Street as investors drew comfort from full approval granted to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and on easing worries of an imminent tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve.[MKTS/GLOB]
* Asia’s robust economic recovery from last year’s coronavirus low is losing momentum as a surge in COVID-19 cases sees shops empty again and factories close, dimming prospects for corporate profit growth after a blockbuster half year.
($1 = 0.8532 euros)
(Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Devika Syamnath and Juliette Portala; Edited by Steve Orlofsky, Arun Koyyur and Subhranshu Sahu)
