Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: A health care worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Rome, Italy, January 27, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

(Reuters) - The World Health Organization on Monday recommended that immunocompromised people be given an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine, due to their higher risk of breakthrough infections after standard immunisation.

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

EUROPE

* Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen coughing during a televised government meeting, reassured officials on Monday that he was fine and said he was being tested for COVID-19 virtually every day.

* Britain on Monday reported a further 40,224 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to official data.

* Italy reported 34 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, up from 27 the previous day, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 1,516 from 2,278.

* Russia reported 957 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, close to the all-time high of 968 reported two days earlier.

AMERICAS

* Merck & Co applied for U.S. emergency use authorization for its drug to treat mild-to-moderate patients of COVID-19, putting it on course to become the first oral antiviral medication for the disease.

* Canada's health and long-term care industries are bracing for staff shortages and layoffs, as deadlines for vaccine mandates loom across the country.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Turkey logged 30,563 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest number of daily infections since April 30, health ministry data showed.

* Thailand will end quarantine requirements for vaccinated visitors from at least 10 countries including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, China and the United States starting Nov. 1.

* Sydney's cafes, gyms and restaurants welcomed back fully vaccinated customers after nearly four months of lockdown, as Australia aims to begin living with the virus and gradually reopen with high rates of inoculation.

* New Zealand will require teachers and workers in the health and disability sectors to be fully vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as she extended restrictions in Auckland for another week.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Egypt's public prosecution said on Sunday it had ordered the arrest of three people after thousands of unused COVID-19 vaccines were found dumped along a water channel.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* AstraZeneca's antibody cocktail against COVID-19, which has proven to work as a preventative shot in the non-infected, was also shown to save lives and prevent severe disease when given as treatment within a week of first symptoms.

* The European Union's drugs regulator is evaluating a marketing authorisation for an antibody cocktail developed by Roche and Regeneron for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in people above the age of 12.

* Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical said it has applied to regulators to expand the use of an antibody treatment for COVID-19 to also allow for preventative care.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Oil prices surged on Monday to multi-year peaks, boosting U.S. materials and energy stocks, but fears that rising prices would exacerbate supply-chain snags caused Wall Street to give up early gains. [MKTS/GLOB]

(Compiled by Milla Nissi, Juliette Portala and Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Maju Samuel)

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