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 * A decision to focus its fiscal firepower on economic recovery has forced the EU to sharply scale back plans to address chronic shortages of drugs, including COVID-19 treatments, by bringing back manufacturing capacity from Asia. * Switzerland has expanded to 42 the number of territories on its watchlist of coronavirus hot spots, new arrivals from which must enter a 10-day quarantine, health authorities said on Wednesday.

Global coronavirus infections surged past 15 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the pandemic gathering pace even as countries remain divided in their response to the crisis.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser. * Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.

EUROPE * A decision to focus its fiscal firepower on economic recovery has forced the EU to sharply scale back plans to address chronic shortages of drugs, including COVID-19 treatments, by bringing back manufacturing capacity from Asia.

* Switzerland has expanded to 42 the number of territories on its watchlist of coronavirus hot spots, new arrivals from which must enter a 10-day quarantine, health authorities said on Wednesday. * Prosecutors in Italy have searched offices of medical diagnostic group Diasorin and a hospital in the northern region worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak in a probe over the awarding of antibody test contracts.

* Romania reported a record 1,030 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, as the World Health Organization sounded the alarm over spikes in southern Europe and the Balkans. AMERICAS

* Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has had another positive result for the coronavirus in the third test he has taken since falling ill on July 7, the government said on Wednesday. * U.S. President Donald Trump, in a shift in rhetoric and tone, encouraged Americans to wear masks if they cannot maintain social distance and warned that the coronavirus pandemic would get worse before it got better.

* Trump expressed a willingness to work with China or other countries to bring a successful coronavirus vaccine to the United States, despite rising tensions between Beijing and Washington. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Hong Kong reported 113 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a daily record, including 105 that were transmitted locally, adding to a slew of new cases which have hit the global financial hub over the past two weeks. * Hong Kong will expand strict new social distancing measures from midnight on Wednesday, mandating face masks in all indoor public areas including malls and markets.

* Japan kicked off a national travel campaign aimed at reviving its battered tourism industry, but the effort has drawn heavy criticism amid a jump in new cases. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* About 2,000 Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem as protests mounted over his handling of a worsening coronavirus crisis. * Qatar allowed citizens and permanent residency holders to travel outside the country and return at any time, and residents outside the country to return starting Aug. 1.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * The U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion to buy 100 million doses of Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine candidate if they are able to successfully develop one, the companies said on Wednesday.

* The University of Oxford's possible COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty, the lead developer of the vaccine said. ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* News that the United States had ordered China to close its consulate in Houston fanned a bout of selling in equity markets on Wednesday, while the euro hit a 21-month high after the previous day's EU recovery fund deal. * Japan's government slightly raised its economic view for a second straight month in July, though authorities said the situation remained difficult.

(Compiled by Anna Rzhevkina, Sarah Morland, Ramakrishnan M and Krishna Chandra Eluri; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Subhranshu Sahu and Tomasz Janowski)