Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: A doctor vaccinates a 13-year-old boy with a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, in his doctor's office in Berlin, Germany, November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

(Reuters) - The Dutch government was considering whether to impose Western Europe's first partial lockdown since the summer, as new coronavirus cases jumped to the highest level since the start of the pandemic.

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

* Germany reported a record number of new cases for a fourth straight day, as a fourth wave swept the country, while the parliament debated new rules to tackle infections without imposing lockdowns or making shots mandatory for anyone.

* Sweden has seen a sharp decline in COVID-19 testing this month, just as much of Europe contends with surging infection rates, after its health agency said vaccinated Swedes no longer need get tested even if they have symptoms of the disease.

* Austria is days away from placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on lockdown, as daily infections are at a record high and intensive-care units are increasingly strained, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.

* Russia on Thursday reported 1,237 coronavirus-related deaths, close to a record one-day toll recorded the previous day, amid a nationwide surge in cases.

AMERICAS

* Canada's epicenters are shifting from dense urban zones to more rural or remote areas that have lower vaccination rates and fewer public health resources.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Authorities in Beijing city imposed new curbs on conferences and events after confirming six locally transmitted cases on Thursday.

* Japan's biggest airline, ANA Holdings, has asked the government to ease curbs on overseas visitors and is seeking a revival of domestic tourism subsidies, its chief executive said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and senior aides holed up in a nuclear command bunker to simulate an outbreak of a vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variant to which children are vulnerable, describing such an eventuality as "the next war".

* Moderna has offered to sell its vaccines to the African Union at $7 a shot, said the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Europe's drug regulator has recommended two COVID-19 antibody therapies - one from American-Swiss partners Regeneron-Roche and another from South Korea's Celltrion, as the region builds up its defence against surging cases.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* The dollar hit a 16-month high a day after the strongest inflation reading in more than three decades, as currency markets anticipated U.S. interest rate hikes next year while equities headed higher, with stock investors focused on the rosy earnings outlook. [MKTS/GLOB]

* Japan's economy likely contracted in the third quarter as coronavirus curbs and supply bottlenecks hurt consumption and output, a Reuters economists poll showed.

* Britain's economic recovery lagged behind that of other rich nations in the July-September period, according to official data.

* Women who work mostly from home risk seeing their careers suffer now that significant numbers of workers are returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann said.

(Compiled by Sarah Morland, Rashmi Aich and Vinay Dwivedi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Bernadette Baum and Sriraj Kalluvila)

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