Latest on the Worldwide Spread of the Coronavirus

(Reuters) – North Korea’s Kim Jong Un declared victory in the battle against COVID-19 on Thursday, with the leader’s sister indicating that he too caught the virus while vowing “deadly retaliation” against South Korea which the North blames for causing the outbreak.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

  • Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098

ASIA-PACIFIC

  • Several COVID-hit Chinese cities from the country’s east to west imposed fresh restrictions and lockdowns on their populations on Thursday to contain flare-ups that are again threatening to disrupt local economies.

  • South Korea’s unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs expressed regret after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister blamed leaflets from the South for causing the COVID outbreak in the isolated country.

  • The eastern Chinese export hub Yiwu in Zhejiang province imposed a three-day lockdown starting on Thursday to contain a recent COVID-19 outbreak, the city government said on Thursday.

  • China and Britain have agreed to resume direct passenger flights between them, the British embassy in China said. The flights were suspended over fears of a new strain of the coronavirus.

  • Shanghai reported zero new domestically transmitted coronavirus cases for Aug. 10, the same as a day earlier, the city government said on Thursday.

  • Mainland China reported 2,166 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 10, of which 700 were symptomatic and 1,466 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

AMERICAS

  • Finally over his coronavirus infection, U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in South Carolina on Wednesday to spend most of the next week on Kiawah Island, an oceanfront golf resort he has visited in the past.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

  • Africa’s top public health body said on Thursday it was hopeful South African pharmaceutical firm Aspen Pharmacare would get orders for its own brand COVID-19 vaccine.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

  • Global shares edged higher on Thursday as investors bet on the pace of interest rate hikes slowing after data pointed to inflation peaking, leaving the dollar struggling after its biggest fall in five months.[MKTS/GLOB]

  • China’s auto sales surged 29.7% in July from a year earlier to 2.42 million units, extending a recovery that began in June with the help of eased COVID curbs and government incentives.

  • French vaccine developer Valneva on Thursday cut its full-year revenue outlook citing lower demand for its anti-COVID shot from European Union member states.

  • Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp said it would hold to its plan to produce 9.7 million vehicles globally this fiscal year, even as it announced another stoppage related to the spread of COVID-19.

  • Cathay Pacific Airways said Hong Kong’s strict COVID rules for air crew were crimping the airline’s ability to exploit rising demand for travel, even as its first-half loss narrowed to HK$5 billion ($636.98 million).

  • Gaming companies are facing a slowdown in demand for video games from pandemic highs, raising doubts about their ability to weather an economic downturn.

(Compiled by Subhranshu Sahu and Jagoda Darlak; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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