Beijing has kicked off three rounds of COVID-19 testing for all residents of its biggest district Chaoyang after dozens of cases were reported, prompting people to stock up on food over fears of an eventual strict Shanghai-style lockdown.
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ASIA-PACIFIC
* Millions of fenced-in Shanghai residents entered their fourth week of a nerve-wracking COVID-19 lockdown, while authorities said they were looking to shift to a targeted enforcement of rules in smaller zones around confirmed cases.
* Operations at a unit of Apple supplier Foxconn in China's Kunshan city remain suspended because of COVID-19 controls but there is limited impact as it has shifted production elsewhere, it said.
* China should take steps to soften the economic impact of COVID-19 and boost annual economic growth back above 5 per cent, a top central bank official said on Sunday.
* Taiwan will not go into a Shanghai-like lockdown to control a rise in domestic COVID-19 cases as the vast majority of those infected have no symptoms or show only minor symptoms, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Saturday, pledging to keep opening up.
* The Philippines on Monday started giving second COVID-19 booster doses for immunocompromised adults, joining a growing number of Asian countries offering a fourth vaccine shot.
EUROPE
* Italy reported 56,263 new COVID-19 related cases on Sunday, against 70,520 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily number of deaths fell to 79 from 143.
AMERICAS
* Most Americans support a flexible approach to the lingering pandemic, with cities reimposing mask mandates when cases surge, even as a growing number are eager to get on with their lives, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
* COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States for the second year in a row in 2021, with death rates rising for most age groups, a government study showed.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* An experimental treatment from Shionogi and Co has shown rapid clearance of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new data, the Japanese drug maker said on Sunday.
* Vaccines company Valneva said that the European Medicines Agency watchdog had asked it to provide more information over its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, dealing another potential setback to Valneva.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Oil prices slumped to near two-week lows, extending losses from last week as concerns grew that prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and potential US rate hikes would hurt global economic growth.
* China stocks fell on Monday, with the CSI300 index set to hit a 23-month low and the Shanghai composite index hovering just above the key 3000-point level, as China's zero-COVID policy and monetary-easing restraint dents investor sentiment.
Australian Associated Press
