FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley said they are dropping the requirement for staff to wear masks in the office. ASIA-PACIFIC * South Korea will begin administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose by the end of February and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed. * New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported" phenomenon, and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country.

Hong Kong is being overwhelmed by the "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections, its leader said, although deaths in the Chinese-controlled global financial hub remain far less than similar-sized cities since the pandemic erupted two years ago. 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 the news. EUROPE

* Norway will scrap nearly all its remaining COVID-19 lockdown measures as high levels of coronavirus infections are unlikely to jeopardize health services, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said. AMERICAS

* Canada is reviewing its pandemic-related border restrictions and will likely announce changes next week, as the worst of an Omicron variant-driven wave appears to have passed, the health minister said on Friday. * Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Morgan Stanley said they are dropping the requirement for staff to wear masks in the office.

ASIA-PACIFIC * South Korea will begin administering a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose by the end of February and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed.

* New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported" phenomenon and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country. * the Cook Islands, a small South Pacific nation that has not experienced COVID-19 in its community, is readying for its first coronavirus infections after an infected traveler visited, Prime Minister Mark Brown, said.

* The Japanese unit of Merck & Co Inc said it would accelerate imports of its oral COVID-19 treatment to help with a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant. * China's National Immigration Administration said it will not be renewing passports for non-essential travel while the international COVID-19 epidemic situation is still severe and cross border travel poses "great security risks".

* Singapore's Health Sciences Authority said it has granted an interim authorization for Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine. AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has been isolated since Saturday after contracting the coronavirus, has tested negative, state-owned Anadolu news agency cited his doctor as saying. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The sole COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy has shown to be effective for patients infected with the Omicron variant - sotrovimab from Vir Biotechnology and GSK - is unlikely to do as well against at least one new version of the variant spreading globally, new research suggests. * The World Health Organization said it had added its first monoclonal antibody tocilizumab to its so-called pre-qualification list, an official list of medicines used as a benchmark for procurement by developing countries.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * The Philippine central bank is keen on maintaining its policy support to sustain economic recovery, its governor said, ahead of this week's rate-setting meeting.

* The Asia-Pacific aviation industry's slow recovery from the pandemic amid government restrictions will cast a shadow over the Singapore Airshow, though there are nascent signs of improvement as concerns over the Omicron variant recede. 

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