Schools in England and Wales were set to reopen on Tuesday to all students for a new term after the Covid-19 pandemic forced their closure, even as global cases surpassed 25.44 million according to a Reuters tally.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India reported 69,921 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the lowest daily jump in six days, taking its overall caseload to 3.69 million.
* South Korea is ready to boost policy support to aid its economy should the rate of infection worsen significantly, its vice finance minister said.
* Australia’s second-most populous state Victoria, the epicentre for Covid-19 infections in the country, reported on Tuesday its lowest rise in virus-related deaths in two weeks.
EUROPE
* Paris will make free Covid-19 testing available in all of the capital’s 20 districts, as authorities battle against signs of a re-emergence of the virus in France.
* Schools in England and Wales will finally reopen on Tuesday to all students for a new term.
* Spain registered more than 23,000 new Covid-19 cases since Friday, health emergency chief Fernando Simon said, suggesting the infection rate had declined slightly from an Aug. 21 peak.
AMERICAS
* The Trump administration and Senate Republicans have been in contact over relief measures and the Senate’s top Republican will “hopefully” unveil a new bill next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox Business Network.
* Brazil reported 45,961 new cases and 553 deaths, taking its national tally of infections to more than 3.9 million, while President Jair Bolsonaro said nobody will be forced to have the vaccine once it is developed.
* The Central American Bank for Economic Integration approved a $400-million loan to regional nations and the Dominican Republic for the acquisition and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Following a five-month lockdown, South Africa is easing domestic travel restrictions, allowing hotels to reopen.
* Algeria said it will carry out further measures to ease a coronavirus lockdown from Sept. 1, including lifting a ban on some cultural activities such as reopening museums and libraries.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* AstraZeneca Plc said it has begun enrolling adults for a U.S.-funded, 30,000-subject late-stage study of its high profile Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday after strong readings on China’s vast manufacturing sector offset the weak lead from a softer Wall Street session.
* Japanese firms slashed spending on plant and equipment by the most in a decade in the second quarter, the government said on Tuesday.
* South Korea’s manufacturing activity shrank at the slowest pace in six months in August, but a resurgence in domestic infections could threaten the recovery.
* South Korea unveiled plans to increase spending aggressively for the next few years, taking public finances further into the red. The country also warned steps to contain the contagion will hurt its economy.
* British Columbia ended FY 2019/2020 with a budget deficit of $C321 million, a sharply worse outcome than the surplus that had been projected.