(Reuters) – A growing COVID-19 cluster in China’s Dalian has spurred the northeastern port city to limit outbound travel, cut offline school classes and close a few cultural venues after being told by national authorities to contain the outbreak more quickly.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* People who are still not vaccinated as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic takes hold in Germany must understand they have a duty to the rest of society to protect others, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
* The Dutch government was considering whether to impose Western Europe’s first partial lockdown since the summer, as new coronavirus cases jumped to the highest level since the start of the pandemic.
* Sweden has seen a sharp decline in COVID-19 testing this month, just as much of Europe contends with surging infection rates, after its health agency said vaccinated Swedes no longer need get tested even if they have symptoms of the disease.
* Austria is days away from placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on lockdown, as daily infections are at a record high and intensive-care units are increasingly strained, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.
AMERICAS
* Canada’s epicenters are shifting from dense urban zones to more rural or remote areas that have lower vaccination rates and fewer public health resources.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida outlined on Friday an urgent plan to increase hospital beds and medical resources in preparation for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 infections this winter.
* Authorities in Beijing city have imposed new curbs on conferences and events after confirming six locally transmitted cases on Thursday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and senior aides holed up in a nuclear command bunker to simulate an outbreak of a vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variant to which children are vulnerable, describing such an eventuality as “the next war”.
* Moderna has offered to sell its vaccines to the African Union at $7 a shot, said the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Europe’s drug regulator has recommended two COVID-19 antibody therapies – one from American-Swiss partners Regeneron-Roche and another from South Korea’s Celltrion, as the region builds up its defence against surging cases.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian share prices advanced on Friday as a shock from a surprisingly strong U.S. inflation reading ebbed, with investors now hopeful that the worst price hikes could be soon over. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Malaysia’s economy shrank 4.5% in the third quarter, contracting by more than expected after its rebound in the second quarter, but the central bank expects a quick recovery as coronavirus restrictions are eased and economic activities resume.
* Britain’s economic recovery lagged behind that of other rich nations in the July-September period, according to official data.
(Compiled by Rashmi Aich and Vinay Dwivedi; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Subhranshu Sahu)
