(Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to invoke rarely used special measures allowing him to tackle protests that have shut some border crossings and paralysed downtown Ottawa, sources said on Monday.
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
* Camilla, the wife of British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, has tested positive for coronavirus.
* Coronavirus case numbers have slightly dropped in Germany, as the government plans to loosen restrictions.
* Sweden’s Health Agency recommended that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine, the fourth jab in total.
AMERICAS
* The Canadian province of Ontario said it will speed up its plan to remove proof-of-vaccination requirements and lift pandemic-related capacity limits for many businesses, while the western province of Alberta ended its mask requirements for school children.
* A website devoted to disseminating leaked data says it has been given reams of information about donors to the Canadian anti-vaccine mandate truckers after the fundraising platform popular with supporters of the movement allegedly suffered a hack.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* The latest wave of infections has “overwhelmed” Hong Kong, the city’s leader said as daily cases surged by some 20 times over the past two weeks.
* Taiwan aims to ease its strict quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and reopen to the world, the government said.
* China’s medical products regulator said it has given conditional approval for Pfizer’s COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country.
* Vietnamese factories are expected to continue production despite record infections, reversing a policy of sweeping lockdowns last year that hobbled global supply chains for Western retailers.
AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
* Hundreds of vehicles drove along the main highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and converged on parliament to protest against COVID-19 curbs in a convoy inspired by demonstrations in Canada.
* Kuwait’s cabinet has lifted many COVID-19 restrictions including a ban on foreign travel, a move that will also apply to those who are not vaccinated.
* Tourism in Turkey is set to return to near pre-pandemic levels this year, boosting the crisis-hit economy with the help of a recent currency crash that has made it a more attractive destination than ever, industry officials say.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The sole COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy shown to be effective for patients infected with the Omicron variant, sotrovimab from Vir Biotechnology and GSK, is unlikely to do as well against at least one new version of the variant spreading globally, new research suggests.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* A pandemic-driven exodus of young families out of Canada’s largest cities has depleted a core age group of workers from the already tight labour market, which experts say risks accelerating wage inflation in certain industries.
* Global trade bottlenecks are more the result of demand spikes than supply chain snags, with pressure likely to ease in the coming months, the World Trade Organization’s chief economist said.
(Compiled by Aditya Soni and Marta Frackowiak; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila, Milla Nissi and Shounak Dasgupta)
