FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide coronavirus spread

* Ukraine reported a record daily high of 1,271 new coronavirus cases on Aug. 4. * Britain has agreed a multi-million pound joint investment with French speciality vaccines company Valneva to upgrade a manufacturing facility and increase production capacity for a possible vaccine.

The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise and Latin America exceeding Europe as the region with most fatalities.

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 summary of news.

EUROPE * Switzerland's health minister said new country-wide measures to check the recent spike are "unlikely" at present. Also, Switzerland is close to signing a deal to secure access to a vaccine being developed by Moderna.

* The Czech Republic reported its biggest daily jump in new cases since the end of June. * Ukraine reported a record daily high of 1,271 new coronavirus cases on Aug. 4.

* Britain has agreed a multi-million pound joint investment with French speciality vaccines company Valneva to upgrade a manufacturing facility and increase production capacity for a possible vaccine. AMERICAS

* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will lead a delegation to Taiwan to meet COVID-19 responders and experts, while a group of state attorneys general urged the U.S. government to allow other companies to make Gilead Sciences' remdesivir. * An eighth minister in Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's Cabinet has tested positive.

* U.S. losses from coronavirus-related fraud and identity theft have reached nearly $100 million since the pandemic emerged in March, while complaints of COVID-19 scams have at least doubled in most states. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia reported a record 15 deaths from COVID-19, all in Victoria state, which was preparing to close much of its economy to control a second wave. * Japanese holidaymakers should refrain from domestic travel and regional governments should act independently to contain a resurgence, the country's top doctors' association said.

* Japanese drugstores were stripped bare of gargling solution by Wednesday, a day after the governor of the western prefecture of Osaka suggested it could help. * South Korean officials are working to keep more than a thousand people displaced by flooding safe and healthy with measures in place at crowded shelters.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * As the number of cases in Africa approaches one million, Uganda has recorded just over 1,200 cases and five deaths since March, a strikingly low total for such a large country.

* South Africa's diamond industry, famed for supplying gems for the British crown jewels, is looking closer to home to revive its fortunes following the coronavirus slump. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* India's Zydus Cadila said its vaccine candidate had been found to be safe and well-tolerated in an early-stage human trial. * French diagnostics company Eurofins is launching a new, lower-cost product to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

* Novavax Inc said its experimental vaccine had produced antibodies and appeared to be safe. ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* Gold jumped to a record high on Wednesday, pushing further past the $2,000 mark in the face of a weak dollar, falling U.S. Treasury yields and expectations of more stimulus measures for the pandemic-ravaged global economy. * The volume of retail sales in the euro zone rebounded in June to levels recorded in February before lockdowns, completing a recovery that began in May.

* Indonesia's economy contracted for the first time in over two decades in the second quarter. (Compiled by Linda Pasquini, Devika Syamnath and Ramakrishnan M; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvilla, Rashmi Aich and Andrew Cawthorne)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)