FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared on track. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. AMERICAS

* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended the COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11 at least five months after completing their primary vaccination course. EUROPE

* Health ministers from the Group of Seven nations have agreed a pact for pandemic readiness that will focus on collaborative surveillance and a future predictable rapid response. "We must take precautions today to avoid being caught off guard again tomorrow," said Karl Lauterbach, Germany's health minister. * Switzerland said it signed a contract to buy Pfizer's anti-viral drug Paxlovid.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Shanghai's Hongkou district said it will require all supermarkets and shops to shut and residents to stay home until at least Sunday, as it plans to carry out three rounds of mass testing for COVID-19.

* Japan will next month double its limit on foreign arrivals to 20,000 a day, the top government spokesperson said. * North Korea said it was achieving "good results" in its fight against its first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, as the number of people with fever symptoms rose past 2 million.

* Thailand will allow nightclubs and karaoke bars to resume regular hours starting in June, a senior official said, dropping most of its remaining pandemic restrictions as daily infections decline. AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

* Several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the COVID-19 pandemic while the world's attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the United States are a concern, Africa's top public health agency said on Thursday. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Vaccination after infection with SARS-CoV-2 may contribute to a reduction in the burden of long COVID symptoms, a new study suggests. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Shanghai reported a broad decline in its economy last month when a city-wide COVID lockdown shut factories and kept residents at home, sparking concerns among foreign firms over their presence in the country. * China's securities regulator announced measures to support virus-hit areas and sectors via capital markets.

* China cut its benchmark reference rate for mortgages by an unexpectedly wide margin, its second cut this year as Beijing seeks to revive the ailing housing sector to prop up the economy. (Compiled by Olivier Sorgho and Dina Kartit; Editing by Alison Williams)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)