(Reuters) – Streets in Beijing were busier on Monday as residents in two districts were allowed to return to work, while Shanghai inched closer towards lifting its two-month-old COVID-19 lockdown this week, as the number of cases across China fell.
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.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* North Korea has lifted movement restrictions imposed in the capital Pyongyang after its first admission of COVID-19 outbreak weeks ago, media reported, as the isolated country says the virus situation is now under control.
** Shanghai will ease COVID-19 testing requirements from June 1 for people who want to enter public areas or use public transport to encourage work resumption and a return to normal life, a city official said.
* North Korea reported 100,710 more people showing fever symptoms and one additional death amid the country’s first confirmed coronavirus outbreak, state media KCNA said on Monday.
EUROPE
* Countries around the world adopted an initial U.S.-led reform of the rules around disease outbreaks, known as the International Health Regulations, the United States said.
AMERICAS
* After unprecedented revenue growth last year, digital platforms including Alphabet Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Snap Inc and Twitter Inc now face a sobering reality as pandemic-driven advertising trends dissipate, according to a report by research firm MoffettNathanson.
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
* Fears over the possible side effects and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines have been the main drivers of hesitancy among thousands of South Africans, a government-backed online survey showed.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Patients who experience recurrence of COVID-19 symptoms after completing treatment with Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid should isolate again for five days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an advisory.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks tracked Wall Street higher on Monday, while the dollar was pinned near five-week lows as investors wagered on an eventual slowdown in U.S. monetary tightening, albeit after sharp hikes in June and July.
* Sweden’s economy slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, data from the Statistics Office showed, confirming that the lingering effects of the pandemic and war in Ukraine have put the brakes on growth.
* China’s ‘zero-COVID’ policy of constantly monitoring, testing and isolating its citizens to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has battered much of the country’s economy, but it has created bubbles of growth in the medical, technology and construction sectors.
* Nepal’s economy is expected to expand by 5.8% in the current financial year ending mid-July, helped by a pick-up in economic activity following a fall in COVID-19 cases, the finance minister said.
(Compiled by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
