Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China’s financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday it would reopen all schools including kindergartens, primary and middle schools on Sept. 1 after months of COVID-19 closures.

Shanghai to reopen all schools Sept. 1 as lockdown fears persist

Deaths and infections

• Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news.

Asia-pacific

• More than 60,000 people thronged Sydney’s streets on Sunday for an annual road running event and mass party that returned for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

• North Korea has dropped a face mask mandate and other social distancing rules as leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19 this week, state media said on Saturday, three months after its first acknowledgement of the virus outbreak in the isolated country.

• Mainland China reported 2,478 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 14, of which 770 were symptomatic and 1,708 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

• Shanghai reported five new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Aug. 14, the same as a day earlier, while one local symptomatic case was reported, up from zero the day before, the city government said on Monday.

Economic impact

• Asian shares turned mixed on Monday after China’s central bank trimmed key lending rates as a raft of economic data missed forecasts, underlining the need for more stimulus to support the world’s second largest economy.

• China’s economy unexpectedly slowed in July, with activity indicators from industrial output to retail sales missing forecasts by large margins, pointing to a shaky recovery as Beijing shows no sign of easing its zero-COVID policy.

• New bank lending in China tumbled more than expected in July while broad credit growth slowed, as fresh COVID flare-ups, worries about jobs and a deepening property crisis made companies and consumers wary of taking on more debt.

• Japan’s economy rebounded at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from a COVID-induced slump, data showed on Monday, highlighting uncertainty on whether consumption will grow enough to bolster a much-delayed, fragile recovery.

• Thailand’s economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter, official data showed on Monday, helped by increased activity and a rebound in tourism as COVID-19 curbs were eased, but surging inflation remains a concern.

• Carnival Corp’s major cruise lines will drop mandatory COVID-19 testing for vaccinated guests and allow unvaccinated passengers to travel without an exemption in some cases, the company said on Friday.