Overview" North Korea reports first covid case, China and South African developmentd

Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the "gravest national emergency" and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had been detected in Pyongyang. Reuters Reuters

May 12 (Reuters) - North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the "gravest national emergency" and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had been detected in Pyongyang. read more

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* Shanghai authorities combed the city for its last COVID-19 cases in the hope of clearing the way for an exit from a painful six-week lockdown, while Beijing curbed taxi services to keep a lid on its smaller outbreak. read more

* Known in Chinese as "juweihui", residential committees - comprised volunteers who receive a daily stipend - have gone into overdrive during the pandemic, helping authorities conduct mass testing, delivering food to people in need and helping to enforce draconian lockdown measures. read more

* Financial leaders from Japan, China and South Korea warned of risks to Asia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and committed themselves to backing market stability and sound fiscal policy. read more

* South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported 10,017 new COVID-19 cases, the first day since January the institute has reported more than 10,000 new infections. read more

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