Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

(Reuters) – India approved the use of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, while England started to reopen its economy after three months of lockdown and Johnson & Johnson began delivering its single-dose vaccine to EU countries.

DEATHS AND

EUROPE

* Russia will restrict flights to and from Turkey from April 15 to June 1 due to a rise in cases in Turkey.

* Spain will initially prioritise people between the ages of 70 and 79 for inoculation with Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.

* Italy is preparing a new stimulus package worth around 40 billion euros, a source close to the matter said.

* Ireland is set to restrict use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to people over the age of 60, RTE reported.

* Bulgaria’s prime minister revealed that a big new vaccine contract the EU is seeking from Pfizer-BioNTech will be at a significantly increased price.

AMERICAS

* The White House said it was prepared to send additional therapeutic treatments to Michigan, which is experiencing a worrying number of cases, but declined to promise more vaccine as the state has sought.

* Ontario is closing in-person schools due to rising cases, and doctors may soon have to decide who can and cannot receive treatment in intensive care.

* Confusion and complacency in addressing COVID-19 means the pandemic is a long way from over, but it can be brought under control in months with proven public health measures, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Hong Kong will loosen some coronavirus measures for residents who have been fully inoculated from late April, the city’s leader Carrie Lam said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the coronavirus science council will recommend a tighter set of measures as the outbreak reached what the minister called “a third peak.”

* Botswana is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to see if there is any link.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Contract drugmaker Rovi is to make active ingredients for Moderna’s vaccine, extending an existing agreement to bottle the vaccine using ingredients brought in from Switzerland.

* South Korea plans to begin local production of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine as early as June, while five domestic companies aim to start late stage clinical trials of their own shots in the second half of this year.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* The dollar slipped and a gauge of global equity markets slid from record highs last week as investors wait to see whether an expected jump in U.S. earnings will justify stock prices already trading at very high premiums. [MKTS/GLOB]

* The U.S. economy could see a significant rebound this year thanks to accommodative monetary and fiscal policy, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said.

* The U.S. government posted a March budget deficit of $660 billion, a record high for the month.

* Business sentiment in Canada continues to improve and many firms consider the impacts of the pandemic behind them, a Bank of Canada survey showed.

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