FACTBOX-Latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world

Reported cases of the coronavirus have crossed 2.7 million globally and 189,970 people have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Friday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

AMERICAS * The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill on Thursday. * An array of U.S. merchants in Georgia and other states prepared to reopen for the first time in a month. * A preliminary survey of New York state residents found that nearly 14% of those tested had antibodies against the coronavirus. * California recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday. * Drugmaker Gilead disputed a report that said its experimental coronavirus drug failed a trial in China, saying results were inconclusive as the study was terminated early. * Canada pledged new money to develop and eventually mass-produce vaccines. * Costa Rica has for the past week reported a steady fall in the number of people currently infected. * Ecuador's authorities added 11,000 new infections that resulted from delayed testing. * Cuba's decades-old rationing system is staging a comeback in a bid to prevent virus transmission during frantic shopping hunts.

EUROPE * France offered retailers some relief on Thursday, saying it wanted them to reopen when a nationwide lockdown ends on May 11. * Spain's daily increase in fatalities further steadied at around 2%, as the government apologized for confusion over lockdown rules for children. * Germany has chosen a home-grown technology for the smartphone-based tracing of infections, putting it at odds with Apple Inc. * Britain's health minister Matt Hancock promised to expand testing to all those considered key workers. * Greece extended its general lockdown by a week to May 4. * Irish hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients have fallen from an average of around 100 per day at the start of April to around 40 now.

ASIA-PACIFIC * South Asia's infections have crossed 37,000, with more than half in India. * China is preparing to buy more than 30 million tonnes of crops for state stockpiles to help protect itself from supply chain disruptions. * Thousands of Hong Kong students were among the first in the world to take their final secondary school exams on Friday, all wearing face masks and having their temperatures checked. * As many as 91 crew of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan's southwestern port of Nagasaki are infected with the coronavirus. Tokyo's first drive-through coronavirus test center was launched this week. * Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended a strict lockdown in the capital Manila until May 15. * Indonesia will temporarily ban domestic air and sea travel starting Friday, barring a few exceptions. * Malaysia will extend travel and other curbs by two weeks to May 12. * Australia will push for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic at next month's annual meeting of the World Health Assembly.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government will allow a partial reopening of the economy on May 1. * The governors of Nigeria's 36 states agreed to ban interstate movement for two weeks. * Algeria will ease confinement measures from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan on Friday. * Israel's religiously devout Jews, who traditionally shun the use of internet or smartphones, are increasingly going online to shop, study, and video chat.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT * Asian shares and U.S. stock futures fell on Friday, spurred by doubts about progress in the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and new evidence of U.S. economic damage. * The UK's government borrowing is soaring to the highest levels in peacetime history. * The closure of bars and restaurants may have slashed global wine sales and winemakers' revenues in Europe by half. * Japan's core consumer inflation eased in March for the second straight month. * Half of German companies are using the government's short-time work facility as most see a decline in revenues. * Italian government debt yields fell after EU leaders agreed to move towards joint financing of a recovery. * Latin America's biggest economies, Brazil and Mexico, will likely struggle with increasing deficits this year.