FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments. EUROPE * The number of people who died from coronavirus infection in France rose by 28 to 29,575 on Wednesday, a figure more in line with the current trend after a spike in deaths on Tuesday due to the inclusion of weekly data for nursing homes. * Italy's nursing homes did not have the equipment needed to protect staff or residents, a survey by the country's top health body showed.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would not close businesses again as several states reported rising numbers of new coronavirus infections.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* More than 8.36 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 447,985​ have died, a Reuters tally showed as of 0400 GMT on Wednesday.

EUROPE

* The number of people who died from coronavirus infection in France rose by 28 to 29,575 on Wednesday, a figure more in line with the current trend after a spike in deaths on Tuesday due to the inclusion of weekly data for nursing homes.

* Italy's nursing homes did not have the equipment needed to protect staff or residents, a survey by the country's top health body showed.

* Sweden will lift its advice against non-essential travel to 10 European countries from June 30, the foreign ministry said.

* Germany's smartphone app to help trace coronavirus infections have been downloaded 6.5 million times in the first 24 hours since its launch, the CEO of software company SAP said.

AMERICAS

* Just days before U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, new coronavirus cases are surging in Oklahoma, Arizona, and other states.

* Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden accused Trump of "surrendering" to the pandemic and failing to stay prepared for a resurgence that could put a U.S. economic recovery at risk.

* Peru topped 240,000 total cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, surpassing hard-hit Italy.

* The Navajo Nation has reimposed 57-hour weekend curfews to protect citizens from a surge in coronavirus cases in neighboring Arizona.

* Mexico's health ministry on Wednesday reported 4,930 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 770 additional fatalities.

* Confirmed cases of coronavirus infections in Panama reached 22,597 on Wednesday, up 635 from the previous day, and deaths climbed by 13 to 470.

* Brazil recorded 1,269 additional COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing its official death toll from the novel coronavirus to 46,510, the most in the world outside the United States.

* Unionized copper mine workers in Chile asked to be included in a dialogue between companies and the government to address the exploding coronavirus crisis in the country.

* An intense season of fires in the Amazon rainforest this year could overwhelm health systems and lead to unnecessary deaths, including of coronavirus, public health experts said.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* China reported 28 new coronavirus cases in the mainland as of end-June 17, 21 of which were in the capital of Beijing.

* New Zealand recorded on Thursday its third new case of the coronavirus this week as quarantine breaches and other failures undermined public confidence days after it declared itself among the first countries in the world to be free of the virus.

* The speaker of Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament has self-isolated after contracting the coronavirus, authorities said as they raised the alarm about a fresh surge in cases in the capital.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said casinos, cinemas, personal care services, and certain forms of accommodation will be allowed to operate.

* Israeli researchers say they have invented a reusable face mask that can kill the coronavirus with heat by drawing power from a mobile phone charger.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Drugmaker Gilead Sciences said it will soon begin enrollment of pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 in a late-stage study testing its experimental drug, remdesivir.

* Israel has signed an agreement with Moderna Inc for the future purchase of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, the Prime Minister said.

* The WHO said testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in its large multi-country trial of treatments for COVID-19 patients had been halted after results from other trials showed no benefit.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* China should consider the timely withdrawal of policy tools aimed at countering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in advance, the country's central bank governor said.

* A majority of Japanese firms said they have taken steps from layoffs to pay cuts to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters monthly poll.

* The Chilean central bank said the country's economy would contract between 5.5% and 7.5% in 2020, taking it to the lowest levels since the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s.

* Worries about the deepening impact of the coronavirus kept Japanese business confidence depressed in June, the Reuters Tankan survey showed.