Home

Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus

Staff WritersReuters
The pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics cost $15b, nearly double the figure in the city's Games bid.
Camera IconThe pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics cost $15b, nearly double the figure in the city's Games bid. Credit: AP

ASIA-PACIFIC

* The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 after being postponed for a year due to the pandemic, cost 1.42 trillion yen ($A15.0 billion), nearly double the figure quoted in the city's bid for the Games, according to a final budget report.

* Chinese capital Beijing reported three new local COVID-19 cases on Wednesday afternoon, all found during community screening, a local health official said.

* The Universal Beijing Resort said on Wednesday it will reopen on June 25 after being closed for nearly two months, as the number of new virus cases in the Chinese capital falls.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

EUROPE

* The European Union wants to boost production of vaccines and drugs in Latin America by investing more in the region and by sharing technologies and regulatory practices, the head of the European Commission said.

* France is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections fuelled by new variants of the virus, French vaccination chief Alain Fischer said. Daily new cases in the country reached an almost two-month peak the day before at more than 95,000.

* Denmark plans to offer a fourth COVID vaccine dose in the autumn to those who are over 50 years old, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said as she announced a strategy to curb the spread of the disease over the coming months.

AMERICAS

* The United States has delivered about 2.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children below five years to administration centres while another one million shots will reach the sites soon, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST

* Uganda's public debt surged 15 per cent in 2021, finance ministry data showed, as the east African country moved to finance post-pandemic recovery and shore-up sagging revenues.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* COVID-19 vaccines that specifically target Omicron and other variants are under development, Pfizer 's chief executive said on Wednesday, adding the company will be able to quickly adapt shots as the virus mutates.

* Moderna said an updated version of its vaccine designed to target the Omicron variant also generated a strong immune response against the fast-spreading Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which have gained a foothold in the US in recent weeks.

* Moderna will build a new research and manufacturing centre in Britain to develop vaccines against new COVID-19 variants, other respiratory illnesses and help improve readiness for any future pandemics.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Copper prices slumped to their lowest level in more than a year on Wednesday on increasing fears rapid interest rate hikes would topple the global economy into recession as China grapples with COVID-19 lockdowns, hitting demand for metals.

* Toyota cut its July global production plan by 50,000 vehicles as semiconductor shortages and COVID-led parts-supply disruptions continued to curb output.

GLOBAL

DEATHS: 6,344,709

CASES: 546,387,403

RECOVERED: 522,016,086

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails