(Reuters) – The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is aiming to ease COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants next week as infections continue to decline, the Jiji news service said on Wednesday.
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
* Germany may miss its target to donate 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year due to conditions imposed by manufacturers and delivery shortfalls, a health ministry official said in a letter to Brussels seen by Reuters. [nL1N2RF1A1
* One of Italy’s largest Chinese communities says it is being unfairly penalised by the government’s mandatory COVID-19 health pass and has asked the authorities for a flexible interpretation of the rules.
AMERICAS
* U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer turned away a religious challenge to a requirement that healthcare workers in Maine be vaccinated against COVID-19, the latest such bid rejected by the nation’s top judicial body.
* The U.S. CDC said it is considering a coronavirus “test-to-stay” program in schools instead of quarantine.
* Executives with United Parcel Service Inc, Walt Disney Co and other companies met with White House officials to discuss President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement plan for private-sector workers, amid concerns it could worsen labor shortages and supply chain woes.
* Thousands of unvaccinated workers across the United States are facing potential job losses as a growing number of states, cities and private companies start to enforce mandates for inoculation against COVID-19.
* The senator leading a congressional probe into Brazil’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has recommended President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide for alleged government errors that led to the deaths of thousands.
* Three unions representing workers at Union Pacific Corp filed lawsuits against the U.S. railroad operator’s move to make vaccines mandatory for its 31,000 employees under a deadline imposed by the Biden administration for federal contractors.
* U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia’s largest cities, eased as Victoria opened its borders to fully vaccinated residents from New South Wales amid a rapid rise in immunisation levels.
* All players who want a visa to compete in the Australian Open will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the country’s immigration minister said, putting Novak Djokovic’s title defence and Grand Slam record bid in doubt.
* Vietnam’s exports are likely to rise 10.7% in 2021, with annual inflation expected below 4%, the prime minister said on Wednesday, promising lawmakers that economic revival lay ahead.
* India has delayed committing supplies of vaccine to the COVAX global sharing effort, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday, a day after one of its key backers, the WHO, said the agency could not “cut corners” to approve a domestically developed vaccine.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Algeria lifted an overnight curfew that was imposed in parts of the country last month.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The U.S. FDA is expected to soon recommend that persons 40 and older receive a Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 booster shots, CNN reported.
* The Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations among those aged 12 to 18, according to an analysis released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares advanced on Wednesday and U.S. long-dated bond yields edged up to a five-month high on rising optimism about the global economy and corporate earnings, while the yen slipped to a four-year low on the dollar. [MKTS/GLOB]
(Compiled by Aditya Soni and Anita Kobylinska; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Maju Samuel and Anil D’Silva)
