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Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
New Zealand's health regulator has granted provisional approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.
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An official in personal protective equipment (PPE) manages the crowd as people queue to receive China's Sinopharm Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in Phnom Penh on May 31, 2021, as part of the government's campaign to halt the rising number of cases of the virus.
(AFP/TANG CHHIN Sothy )
T
he Delta outbreak in Australia's biggest city Sydney grew by 239 cases on Thursday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic started, forcing authorities to increase police powers to shut down businesses not complying with lockdown measures.
Asia Pacific
* New Zealand's health regulator has granted provisional approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.
* Cambodia is set to launch a lockdown in eight provinces bordering Thailand from midnight on Thursday, in a bid to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.
* Isolation and the absence of family and friends have taken a toll on athletes' mental health at the Tokyo Olympics, with some struggling to cope with the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Europe
* England will allow fully vaccinated visitors from the European Union and United States to arrive without needing to quarantine from next week.
* Norway postponed for a second time a planned final step in the reopening of its economy from pandemic lockdown.
* The European Union (EU) has signed a contract with GlaxoSmithKline for the supply of up to 220,000 treatments of its investigational antibody therapy sotrovimab against COVID-19.
Americas
* US President Joe Biden is expected to announce that about two million civilian federal workers will need to be vaccinated or face testing, social distancing, mask requirements and limits on travel.
* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 66.6 percent of US counties had transmission rates of COVID-19 high enough to warrant indoor masking.
* The Canadian province of Alberta said it is dropping quarantine requirements for close contacts of COVID-19 cases, while neighbouring British Columbia is bringing back a mask mandate for its central region.
Middle East and Africa
* Iran will become the first country outside of Cuba to start producing one of the Communist-run island's homegrown vaccines on an industrial scale.
* Zimbabwe has authorised the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.
Medical Developments
* The US Food & Drug Administration extended the shelf life for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to six months from four-and-a-half months.
* Emergent Biosolutions said it would resume production of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine at its troubled Baltimore facility, where operations were stopped in April after millions of doses were found to be contaminated.
Economic Impact
* Asian shares managed a semblance of calm on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve signalled it was in no rush to taper stimulus, though the mood was fragile as investors waited to see if Beijing could stem the recent bloodletting in Chinese shares.
* The US economy likely gained steam in the second quarter, with the pace of growth probably the second fastest in 38 years, helped by massive government aid and vaccinations.
* Australia's central bank will likely reverse a decision to trim its bond buying program when it holds its monthly meeting next week.
