Coronavirus: Week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, WHO warns against 'vaccine nationalism'

The Nikkei Asian Review is tracking the spread of the new coronavirus that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Follow the latest updates.

Global cases have reached 26,510,880, according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The worldwide death toll has hit 872,569.

To see how the disease has spread, view our virus tracker charts:

(Source photo by AP) 

Here are the latest developments (Tokyo time):

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Saturday, September 5

10:27 a.m. Mainland China reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Sept. 4, down from 25 reported a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Saturday. The total confirmed COVID-19 cases for mainland China now stands at 85,112, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

8:45 a.m. Moderna Inc has been asking sites that are conducting clinical trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine to focus on enrolling at-risk minorities, even if that slows down the trial speed, the company said on Friday.

4:40 a.m. The number of companies in Japan that have filed for bankruptcy as a result of the pandemic could top 500 as early as next week, NHK reports, citing a study by Teikoku Databank.

3:00 a.m. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that "vaccine nationalism" would "prolong the pandemic, not shorten it," arguing that" the first priority must be to vaccinate some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries."

Friday, September 4

11:52 p.m. AstraZeneca has begun clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine candidate in Japan.

11:20 p.m. U.S. stocks give up early gains and slip into negative territory for the session, which follows yesterday's tech-stock-led sell-off.

9:31 a.m. A Chinese bus rider study finds evidence of "airborne transmission" of COVID-19, Caixin reports.

8:30 p.m. A coronavirus vaccine is "not necessary" for a successful Olympics to be held in Tokyo next summer, the head of the organizing committee says.

8:00 p.m. Russia's "Sputnik-V" COVID-19 vaccine produces an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published by The Lancet medical journal.

6:27 p.m. A World Health Organization spokeswoman says it does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the middle of 2021.

6:00 p.m. Indonesia reports 3,269 new infections, down from a record high 3,622 a day earlier, bringing the country's overall tally to 187,537. It is the third consecutive day of new cases numbering above 3,000.

5:20 p.m. Thailand is racing ahead with contact tracing after detecting its first domestic transmission in over three months, health officials say, with tests conducted on nearly 200 people with possible exposure to the new patient. Thailand had gone 100 days without a local transmission when on Thursday a test on a prisoner came back positive.

5:10 p.m. The Philippines reports 3,714 new infections, up from 1,987 a day earlier, bringing the country total to 232,072. It also added 49 deaths, down from 65 on Thursday, taking the death toll to 3,737.

4:00 p.m. Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized in Milan after testing positive for the coronavirus, his Forza Italia party says, adding that there is no cause for concern. The 83-year-old media tycoon had been isolating at home in Arcore, north of Milan.

Near a construction site in Ahmedabad, India, on September 3, 2020. India is closing in on Brazil as the world's No. 2 virus hot spot.   © Reuters

1:39 p.m. India reports 83,341 new cases in the last 24 hours, marking the second straight day of over 83,000 cases and bringing the country total to more than 3.93 million. The country has now recorded 68,472 deaths, up 1,096 from Thursday morning. It is also closing in on Brazil as the world's second-worst hit nation, after the U.S.

1:10 p.m. Creditors of Virgin Australia Holdings approve Bain Capital's purchase of Australia's second-biggest airline. The U.S. private equity group's deal will allow the carrier to emerge from what Australia calls voluntary administration, which it had entered in April owing A$7 billion ($5 billion).

12:11 p.m. Asian stocks opened lower after Wall Street tumbled the most in nearly three months as the tech rally lost steam. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average and South Korea's Kospi were 1.3% lower in early trade. China's CSI 300, an index of the largest stocks traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost more than 1.5%.

11:40 a.m. The Philippines' inflation rate beat central bank forecasts and eased to its slowest pace in three months in August amid sluggish demand. The Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 2.4% last month, down from July's six-month high of 2.7%, as price increases slipped for the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverage index.

Inflation in the Philippines fell to its lowest level in three months in August, slowing to 2.4% annually from 2.7% the previous month, as the coronavirus pandemic sapped demand.   © Reuters

11:33 a.m. South Korea reports 198 cases, up from 195 a day ago, bringing the country total to 20,842 with 331 deaths. The governing Democratic Party has agreed with a doctors association to suspend the government's plan to increase the medical school admissions quota.

10:50 a.m. Australian retailers record strong sales in July, gaining in all regions except Victoria, which is battling a second wave of infections. Retail sales jumped 3.2% to 30.7 billion Australian dollars ($22.3 billion) in July from a month ago -- a robust 12% year-on-year gain. This follows a solid 2.7% monthly rise in June.

10:30 a.m. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the country's current restrictions to contain the coronavirus pandemic will continue until mid-September. New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, will remain at alert level 2.5, which limits gatherings to no more than 10 people. Other parts of the country will be at alert level 2, which requires people to observe social distancing and restricts gatherings to no more than 100 people.

9:10 a.m. China reports 25 cases for Thursday, up from 11 a day earlier. All new cases originated overseas, marking the 19th consecutive day with no locally transmitted infections.

8:40 a.m. Australia's coronavirus hot spot, the state of Victoria, reports 81 new infections, down from 113 a day earlier. The state's death toll from the coronavirus rose by 59, which includes 50 people in nursing homes who died in July and August.

7:30 a.m. Brazil reports 43,773 new cases and 834 deaths in the past 24 hours. The country has registered 4,041,638 infections and 124,614 fatalities since the pandemic began.

5:00 a.m. U.S. stocks go sharply into reverse, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down around 800 points, or 2.8%, and the S&P 500 losing about 125 points, or 3.5%. Apple leads a sell-off of tech shares that some analysts have warned are overpriced.

U.S. President Donald Trump tours  Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies' Innovation Center, where components for a potential Novavax coronavirus disease vaccine candidate are being developed.   © Reuters

4:30 a.m. A coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution in the U.S. as early as late October, before the presidential election, Reuters quotes public health officials and Pfizer as saying.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says "no one is pressuring" the Food and Drug Administration to rush approval of a vaccine for political motives, Reuters reports.

3:01 a.m. Israel announces it will impose a partial national lockdown next week to battle a surge in coronavirus cases.

Health official Ronni Gamzu says the county is at a "pivotal moment" in containing the pandemic. Around 3,000 new cases are now reported daily in the country of nine million people.

1:10 a.m. Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer has announced a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs totaling 2,500 employees -- 900 more job cuts from its earlier plans.

Thursday, September 3

11:55 p.m. Japan confirms 652 new cases of COVID-19 as of 10:00 p.m. Thursday. Tokyo, the country's main hot spot for infections, reports over 200 new cases.

9:13 p.m. More than 1,000 school children in Japan have tested positive in the past three months, according to the education ministry. Since classes resumed in June, 1,166 cases have been reported among students attending grade school through high school, with 924 cases in August alone.

8:15 p.m. Thailand's streak of 100 days with zero local transmissions ends, with the authorities announcing a positive test on a 37-year-old man imprisoned on Aug. 26 on drug charges. Thirty-two other prisoners who were with the man have tested negative. The patient has been moved to a hospital run by the Corrections Department.

6:15 p.m. Indonesia reports another new daily high of 3,622 cases, with 134 more deaths. This brings the country's totals to 184,268 infections with 7,750 fatalities.

5:10 p.m. The Philippines reports 1,987 additional infections, a new five-week low, and 65 additional deaths.

4:50 p.m. Singaporean health authorities have detected new COVID-19 clusters at foreign worker dormitories previously cleared of the virus, highlighting the challenge of containing its spread, Reuters reports. The vast majority of the city-state's nearly 57,000 cases are from cramped dormitories that house more than 300,000 mostly South Asian workers employed in sectors such as construction and shipbuilding.

4:00 p.m. Vietnam plans to restart international flights between six Asian cities starting in mid-September, ending a monthslong suspension after easing some restrictions on foreign business travelers. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam is proposing a resumption of flights to Guangzhou, Seoul, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, Taipei and Tokyo, which would mean about 5,000 passengers arriving weekly, according to the transport ministry-run Giao Thong newspaper.

3:13 p.m. Tokyo reports 211 new infections, up from 141 on Wednesday and the first time in five days for the total to surpass 200.

2:50 p.m. French drugmaker Sanofi and its British counterpart GSK have started a clinical trial for a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate. If the candidate makes it through the process, the companies intend to make the vaccine available around the world.

India logged 83,883 new coronvirus cases in the last 24 hours on Sept. 3, its highest-ever single-day increase and a global one-day record.   © Reuters

1:30 p.m. India reports 83,883 new cases in the last 24 hours, its highest-ever single-day increase and a global record, bringing the country's coronavirus infections to more than 3.85 million. Deaths jumped by 1,043 to 67,376.

11:24 a.m. South Korea confirms 195 cases, down from 267 a day ago and the first daily increase below 200 in 17 days. That brought the country's total to 20,644 with 329 deaths.

10:16 a.m. The Philippines' jobless rate eased to 10.0% -- about 4.6 million people -- in a July government survey from a record 17.7% in April, as the economy partially reopened in June. Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate stood at 5.3%.

9:00 a.m. Australia's Victoria state reports 113 new infections, up from 90 a day earlier and the first triple-digit rise in four days, denting optimism that a second wave of cases has been contained.

6:31 a.m Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has tested positive for the coronavirus, says his spokesperson. The 83-year-old media tycoon reportedly tells supporters via video that he will continue to fight.

5:30 a.m. White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx rejects complaints that the Trump administration was considering a "herd immunity" approach to the coronavirus pandemic. "Neither I, nor anybody in the administration, is willing to sacrifice American lives for herd immunity. We'll get to herd immunity through a vaccine and that's the right way to do it," Birx told reporters.

5:10 a.m. U.S. stocks notch their biggest percentage gains in weeks, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both advancing more than 1.5%.

States in the U.S. have been told to prepare for administering a COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk groups by November.   © Reuters

4:20 a.m. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told state governors to fast-track preparations for coronavirus vaccine distribution centers by Nov. 1, before the presidential election, according to media reports. The timeline raised concern among health experts about a vaccine approval driven by political considerations ahead of a presidential election, rather than science.

3:00 a.m. Turkey is seeing the second peak of the coronavirus outbreak due to "carelessness" at weddings and other social gatherings, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says."The virus is spreading to more people each day. Our test numbers are rising every day, our new patient numbers are not falling," Koca says.

1:55 a.m. U.S.-based United Airlines has told employees it is prepared to cut 16,000 jobs if government aid ends in October. American Airlines has already warned that it will layoff 19,000 workers if the aid is not extended.

12:05 a.m. The actual race may have been cancelled, but over 45,000 people have enrolled to run a "virtual" London Marathon in October, according to media reports. Entrants will race alone and record their time on an app.

Wednesday, September 2

10:50 p.m. Thailand's prime minister congratulates the nation for having achieved 100 days without a confirmed locally transmitted case of the coronavirus.

10:40 p.m. Steroids can reduce the risk of death in critically ill COVID-19 patients by 20%, Reuters reports, citing an analysis of seven international trials published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9:50 p.m. Japan's government will begin a study next month on the merits of hospital ships, considering examples of their use in the U.S., U.K., China and other countries. Tokyo weighed introducing floating medical care facilities after Japan's 2011 tsunami but was deterred by the cost. A decision this time could be reached by the end of the current fiscal year next March.

8:49 p.m. Hong Kong has canceled its Oct. 1 National Day fireworks display, which usually draws a large crowd along Victoria Harbor. Last year the event was also called off, as the territory was racked by anti-government protests.

A family wears masks to avoid the coronavirus at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul.   © Reuters

7:51 p.m. South Korea and Singapore have reached an agreement for essential business and official travel between both countries from Friday, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The conditions cover pre-departure and post-arrival testing for COVID-19, and a requirement to stick to a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days after arrival in Singapore or South Korea.

6:50 p.m. China's aviation regulator says it will resume direct flights to Beijing from eight countries including Thailand, Cambodia, Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Canada from Sept. 3.

6:43 p.m. Hong Kong will relax social distancing measures as the city recorded the lowest number of COVID-19 new infections in almost two months. Dine-in services at restaurants will be extended from 9pm to 10pm, while gyms and sports facilities will reopen.

5:40 p.m. Indonesia reports 3,075 new coronavirus cases, up from 2,775 a day earlier and bringing the country's total to 180,646, government data shows. The country also logged 111 deaths, raising the total to 7,616.

5:10 p.m. The Philippines records 2,218 new infections, the country's lowest rise in daily cases in five weeks, and 27 additional deaths. Total infections have reached 226,440 while deaths total 3,623.

3:50 p.m. British house prices leaped to hit an all-time high in August, according to mortgage lender Nationwide, adding to signs of a sharp rebound in the country's housing market after the coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reported. Prices jumped by 2.0% from July, the biggest month-on-month increase since 2004. Prices were 3.7% higher than a year earlier.

3:30 p.m. Tokyo reports 141 new infections, down from 170 a day earlier and marking the fourth consecutive day of more than 100 cases.

People wearing masks as protection against COVID-19 work in deep-fried Chinese dough shop in Bangkok.   © Reuters

2:30 p.m. Thailand plans cash handouts and job measures worth about 68.5 billion baht ($2.2 billion) to support an economy battered by the pandemic, a government official says. The 3,000-baht ($96) stipends, meant to boost consumption, will go to 15 million people in the country of around 69 million.

1:59 p.m. India confirms 78,357 new cases in the past 24 hours, higher than 69,921 the previous day and bringing the country tally to 3.77 million. Total fatalities jump to 66,333, up 1,045 since Tuesday morning.

1:30 p.m. The Japanese government is considering offering a coronavirus vaccine for free to all residents, souces say. The government will place first priority on the elderly and health care workers, then expand vaccination to all residents who want it. The government has said it aims to secure enough coronavirus vaccines for everyone by the middle of next year.

The Japanese government may offer free COVID-19 vaccines to all residents once one becomes available.   © Reuters

1:15 p.m. Exxon Mobil is assessing possible worldwide job cuts, a spokesman says, after the company announced a voluntary layoff program in Australia. Exxon is the latest oil major to embark on axing jobs following a historic collapse in fuel demand due to the pandemic.

1:10 p.m. South Korea reports 267 new infections, up from 235 a day earlier. It is the fourth consecutive day of more than 200 cases.The Seoul Metropolitan Government banned people from eating at convenience stores after 9 p.m., effective today.

9:50 a.m. Australia's economy shrank 7% in the three months to the end of June, widening from a 0.3% contraction in the March quarter, according to government data, marking the country's worst economic downturn on record.

8:42 a.m. China reports eight new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, down from 10 a day earlier. The latest infections all involved travelers from overseas, marking the 17th consecutive day with no local cases.

7:40 a.m. Australia's coronavirus hot spot of Victoria state reports six deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours and 90 new infections. The country's second-most-populous state a day earlier recorded five deaths and 70 cases.

7:20 a.m. New York City's public school system, the largest in the U.S., reached an agreement on Tuesday that resolves union leaders' coronavirus safety concerns and pushes back the opening of classrooms for the new academic year by 11 days to Sept. 21.

A pharmacist deposits a blood sample for an antibody rapid diagnostic test for the novel coronavirus at a pharmacy in Cambrai, France on July 17. COVID-19 antibody levels rose and then held steady for up to four months in more than 90% of recovered patients in Iceland, according to a new study.    © Reuters

6:40 a.m. Coronavirus antibody levels rose and then held steady for up to four months in more than 90% of recovered COVID-19 patients in Iceland, according to a study published on Tuesday. In previous studies, levels dropped sharply within a few months, raising questions about the duration of immunity that infection may provide.The new finding may have implications for reinfection risks and vaccine durability, said Kari Stefansson, chief executive of deCode Genetics, which conducted the study.

4:50 a.m. The White House pushes back on concerns expressed by the World Health Organization after a U.S. health official said a coronavirus vaccine might be approved without completing full trials. "The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

1:00 a.m. Saudi Arabia has postponed its fourth Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference to January 2021 from October this year, organizers said on Tuesday, citing global travel issues related to the coronavirus pandemic. The conference, which attracts chief executives of global companies and top government officials, will now be held from Jan. 26-28 in Riyadh, under the title "The Neo-Renaissance".

Tuesday, September 1

8:28 p.m. Indonesian President Joko Widodo says the country's coronavirus outbreak will likely peak this month, adding he is "very confident" about access to a safe and effective vaccine by the end of this year.

Government workers wearing protective suits carry a mock-up of a coffin of a coronavirus victim on a main road in Jakarta on August 28 to warn people about the dangers of the disease.   © Reuters

5:30 p.m. Indonesia reports 2,775 cases, bringing the country total to 177,571. It also reports 88 new fatalities, pushing the tally to 7,505 -- the highest coronavirus death toll in Southeast Asia.

4:30 p.m. The total number of coronavirus cases in Russia has passed the 1 million mark after 4,729 new infections were reported on Tuesday. Separately, 123 new deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours.

4:15 p.m. Tokyo reports 170 new infections, up from 100 a day earlier and marking the third consecutive day of more than 100 cases.

4:00 p.m. AstraZeneca has expanded its previous agreement with Oxford Biomedica to mass-produce the British drugmaker's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as it looks to scale-up supplies ahead of a possible fast-track approval from the U.S. Gene and cell therapy firm Oxford Biomedica says AstraZeneca would give it 15 million pounds ($20 million) upfront to reserve manufacturing capacity at its plant and that it could get an additional $35 million pounds plus other costs until the end of 2021 under the 18-month deal.

2:30 p.m. The cash-strapped AirAsia Group says it will charge customers to check in at airport counters, in part to minimize physical contact with staff. Travelers who do not check in via the budget airline's website, app or airport kiosk will be charged 20 Malaysian ringgit ($4.83) for domestic flights and 30 ringgit for international flights, with some exceptions.

People shop for snacks at a traditional market in Jakarta on August 20, 2020. Indonesia's inflation rate is at its lowest point since May 2020.   © Reuters

2:14 p.m. India confirms 69,921 new cases for the past 24 hours, its lowest daily increase in nearly a week after its first under 75,000 in the past six days. The country has now counted 3.69 million total infections and 65,288, deaths.

1:43 p.m. Japan's top mask maker plans to export the protective face coverings to Asian countries now that domestic demand has been sated. Unicharm early next year will begin exporting about 20 million face masks per month, spread out to India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

1:30 p.m. Indonesia's inflation rate cooled further in August to 1.32% from a year earlier, government data shows. The lowest reading since May 2000 comes as the pandemic tames demand. The rate was 1.54% in July.

12:00 p.m. Australia's state of Victoria, an epicenter for infections, reports its fewest virus-related deaths in two weeks. Victoria says five people died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the fewest since Aug. 15, and 70 people tested positive for the coronavirus -- a seven-week low.

10:11 a.m. China reports 10 new infections for Monday, down from 17 a day earlier. All new cases involved travelers from overseas, marking the 16th consecutive day of no local infections.

South Korea will take public finances further into the red for the next few years to safeguard jobs and boost welfare for an economy hit by the coronavirus.   © Reuters

9:10 a.m. The South Korean government unveils plans to increase spending aggressively for the next few years to safeguard jobs and boost welfare for an economy hit by the coronavirus, taking public finances further into the red. The finance ministry says total spending will increase 8.5% to a record 555.8 trillion won ($468.3 billion) next year, while expected revenue is projected to increase a mere 0.3% to 483 trillion won.

9:05 a.m. Japan's unemployment rate worsened to 2.9% in July from 2.8% in June, government data shows. The ratio of job availability fell to 1.08 from 1.11 in June and was the lowest since April 2014. The ratio means there were 108 openings for every 100 job seekers.

9:00 a.m. Capital spending by Japanese companies fell 11.3% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, the largest drop in a decade, as the pandemic clouded the business outlook, government data shows. Investment by all nonfinancial sectors for purposes such as building factories and adding equipment totaled 9.64 trillion yen ($91 billion).

6:47 a.m. AstraZeneca has begun to enroll 30,000 adult participants in a late-stage study to evaluate its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222.

12:32 a.m. An independent Russian teachers union is urging members not to be forced into receiving the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Doctors and teachers will be offered the vaccine on a voluntary basis from September.

Monday, August 31

10:18 p.m. India's GDP contracted 23.9% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, when Asia's third-largest economy was shackled by one of the world's strictest lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

6:42 p.m. Turkey's economy contracted by 9.9% in the second quarter as a lockdown brought activity to nearly a standstill, Reuters reports, citing new government data that showed the country's worst year-on-year performance in a decade.

6:00 p.m. Hong Kong will resume face-to-face school classes starting Sept. 23 as the authorities aim to ease restrictions that have kept 900,000 students studying from home for over four months. The city's education secretary said grades one, five and six will resume at upper kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools on Sept. 23, while other grades will open on Sept. 29.

5:30 p.m. The Philippines reports 3,446 coronavirus infections and 38 deaths, taking its total cases to 220,819 and fatalities to 3,558. The country also says that five Philippine hospitals have been identified as candidates for clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by China-based Sinovac Biotech.

3:09 p.m. Tokyo confirms 100 new infections, down from 148 a day earlier. The capital has extended a request to establishments serving alcohol and to karaoke venues to shorten business hours until Sept. 15. Originally, the request was due to end Monday.

3:05 p.m. With Hong Kong set to embark on citywide coronavirus testing to eradicate COVID-19 transmission in the city, medical experts say turnout will be key to the effectiveness of the scheme, which has raised concerns over the handling of citizens' DNA data.

Catholic nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, the global order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa, wear protective face shields as they prepare to distribute free snacks and tea to the poor, in Kolkata, India, on Aug. 26.   © Reuters

2:15 p.m. India reports 78,512 cases in the last 24 hours, slightly lower than its highest single-day rise of 78,761 -- a global record -- the previous day, bringing the country's total to over 3.6 million. Deaths hit 64,469, up 971 since Sunday morning.

1:40 p.m. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rises over 400 points, or 2%, at one point. News that Chief Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-hand man, Yoshihide Suga, emerged as a leading candidate to take over Abe's post provided investors with relief that no significant change would be made to the country's economic policy.

12:10 a.m. Hong Kong's private home prices eased 0.5% in July, the first drop since April, as one of the world's most expensive property markets continued to be pressured by the pandemic and political uncertainties, Reuters reports.

10:45 a.m. South Korea confirms 248 new cases, down from 299 a day ago. Total infections reach 19,947 with 324 deaths. Most of the country's colleges start fall semester this week with online lectures.

10:00 a.m. Australia's Victoria state -- the epicenter of the country's COVID-19 outbreak -- says it has detected 73 new infections in the past 24 hours, the fewest since July 3. It also reports a record daily rise in coronavirus deaths, 41.

9:30 a.m. Japan's industrial output grew 8% in July from the previous month, government data shows, gaining for a second consecutive month and signaling a gradual recovery from a COVID-19-delivered setback. Retail sales fell for a fifth straight month.

9:00 a.m. China reports 17 new cases for Sunday, up from nine a day earlier. All of the cases were imported, involving travelers returning from abroad, marking the 15th straight day of no local transmissions in the country.

A Shi'ite Muslim woman looks on during a congregation to mark Ashura, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in New Delhi on Aug. 30. 

5:40 a.m. U.S. coronavirus cases surpass 6 million, with over 180,000 deaths.

Sunday, August 30

10:30 p.m. Schools in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos will reopen next month as the African nation looks to restart its economy, Reuters quotes the state governor as saying

7:00 p.m. A more infectious mutation of the new coronavirus has been found in Indonesia, the Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology says. The "infectious but milder" D614G mutation of the virus has been found in genome sequencing data from samples collected by the institute, Deputy Director Herawati Sudoyo told Reuters.

6:00 p.m. Global cases of COVID-19 have topped 25 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center.

4:46 p.m. Indonesia reports 2,858 new coronavirus infections and 82 more deaths, raising the total number of cases to 172,053 and fatalities to 7,343, data from the country's Health Ministry shows.

2:19 p.m. India registers 78,761 cases in the past 24 hours, the worst single-day spike yet recorded in any country, as the government continues easing pandemic restrictions nationwide, AP reports. The health ministry also confirms 948 deaths in the same period, taking total fatalities to 63,498.

10:48 a.m. South Korea reports over 100 new infections for the 17th consecutive day, as restrictions on on-site dining at restaurants, pubs and bakeries in the densely populated Seoul area take effect.

2:25 a.m. India will reopen underground train networks and allow sports and religious events in a limited manner starting next month as part of efforts to revive the economy, even as coronavirus infections soar, Reuters reports.

Saturday, August 29

11:29 p.m. Myanmar reports 77 new infections, the country's biggest daily rise, amid a recent resurgence of the virus after weeks without a confirmed domestic transmission. Myanmar's outbreak has been small compared with that of neighbors since the country found its first case in March, with only six deaths and 733 infections reported so far.

8:21 p.m. Sinovac Biotech's coronavirus vaccine candidate CoronaVac is approved for emergency use as part of a program in China to vaccinate high-risk groups such as medical staff, Reuters reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.

5:19 p.m. Indonesia confirms 3,308 new cases, its biggest rise in infections for a third straight day. The country's tally rises to 169,195, while 92 new deaths bring its toll to 7,261.

5:15 p.m. The Philippines reports 3,637 new infections and 94 more deaths, raising its tally to 213,131 cases and 3,419 fatalities. The nation is grappling with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia, and a death toll second only to Indonesia.

4:45 p.m. India registers 76,472 new cases, bringing its total to 3.46 million, local media report, citing the health ministry. The cumulative death toll reaches 62,550, with 1,021 new fatalities.

3:57 p.m. South Korea reports 308 new cases, reaching triple digits for the 16th consecutive day and fanning concerns about a worsening shortage of sickbeds. The resurgence of COVID-19 left hospitals in greater Seoul with only 4.5% of their beds available for critical cases as of Friday, down from 22% a week earlier, according to Reuters.

To catch up on earlier developments, see last week's latest updates.