(Reuters) – The British government was unprepared for a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, failed to learn from simulation exercises and was distracted by its departure from the European Union, the government’s spending watchdog said on Friday.
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
* France does not need to follow those European countries imposing COVID-19 lockdowns on unvaccinated people, because of the success of its health pass in curbing the virus’ spread, President Emmanuel Macron said.
* The Spanish beach resort of Benidorm, famous for its vibrant nightlife and especially popular with British partygoers, has opened a COVID-19 vaccination centre for tourists as cases surge along with arrival numbers.
AMERICAS
* Canada will announce as expected on Friday it is authorizing the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, a government source said.
* Florida banned schools and businesses from requiring vaccination against COVID-19 and set the stage for a possible withdrawal from the federal agency aimed at protecting workplace safety.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* The first known COVID-19 case was a market vendor in the Chinese city of Wuhan, not an accountant who appeared to have no link to the market but whose case contributed to speculation the virus could have leaked from a lab, a U.S. study noted.
* The Philippines has approved a plan to allow entry soon to foreign tourists vaccinated against COVID-19, its tourism ministry said, following moves by other Southeast Asian countries to relax travel curbs.
* Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways said it had fired three cargo pilots who were infected with COVID-19 during a layover in Frankfurt, over an unspecified “serious breach” of crew rules while overseas.
* India has approved the export of 20 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India to Indonesia, according to a government document seen by Reuters and a government source.
* Singapore is hosting top executives of big global companies this week at a host of conferences, marking its gradual return to normalcy and underscoring the contrast with long-time rival Hong Kong, which is sticking with some of the toughest quarantine rules in the world.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Nigeria’s economy grew just over 4% in the third quarter, the statistics office said, lifted by higher oil prices, as the country targets mass vaccination from this month.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* German biotechnology company CureVac said clinical trials for its second-generation COVID-19 vaccine are expected to start within the next few months.
* AstraZeneca cemented its lead in bringing a preventative COVID-19 shot to market, saying its antibody cocktail offered 83% protection over six months, providing another possible weapon in the fight against the pandemic.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Japan is set to announce a record $490 billion spending package on Friday to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, bucking a global trend towards withdrawing crisis-mode stimulus measures and adding strains to its already tattered finances.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates late next year, earlier than expected just a month ago, in a landmark shift from the emergency measures it took to backstop its economy during the pandemic, according to a Reuters poll.
(Compiled by Sherry Jacob-Phillips; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta)
