FactBox: Newest on the worldwide unfold of the coronavirus

North Korean chief Kim Jong-un held a ceremony to thank and reward army medics for spearheading the nation’s battle in opposition to the coronavirus within the capital Pyongyang, state media mentioned.

Following is a abstract of different current developments within the pandemic:

Deaths and infections

ASIA-PACIFIC
* Thailand noticed 3.78 million vacationer arrivals from January to August 17, a spokesman for the federal government’s COVID-19 taskforce mentioned.
* Mainland China reported 2,804 new coronavirus circumstances for August 18, of which 603 had been symptomatic and a pair of,201 had been asymptomatic.
* Shanghai reported three new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus circumstances for August 18, down from 4 a day earlier, whereas no native symptomatic circumstances had been reported, the identical as a day earlier.

EUROPE
* Vacationers are again within the French capital, and for the riverside booksellers – often known as “bouquinistes” in France – it is the top of fears that the COVID-19 pandemic may spell the top of a enterprise that dates again to the sixteenth century.

 Medical developments

* The World Well being Group on Thursday advisable using French drugmaker Valneva’s COVID-19 vaccine.
* Novavax’s Nuvaxovid vaccine was granted expanded provisional approval in New Zealand for adolescents aged 12 by 17.
* Arcturus Therapeutics mentioned medical information on its ARCT-154 vaccine confirmed excessive, sustained geometric imply fold rises in neutralizing antibodies in opposition to all evaluated Omicron variants.

Financial affect

* China shares closed down on Friday as issues over rising COVID-19 circumstances and a sluggish financial restoration lingered.
* Tapestry Inc and Estee Lauder Cos Inc forecast full-year earnings beneath estimates on Thursday, underscoring the hit international luxurious items firms are taking from China’s COVID-19 lockdowns.