FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide coronavirus spread

* Switzerland signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to the vaccine under development. AMERICAS * The U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat said President Donald Trump cannot solve the need for coronavirus relief using his executive authority, one day after talks between the White House and congressional Democrats appeared to stall. * The U.S. State Department urged citizens not to travel to Mexico, despite easing a global travel ban, and warned of the rapid spread of the virus in the nation.

Nearly 300,000 Americans could be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 1, University of Washington health experts forecast on Thursday, although they said 70,000 lives could be saved if people were scrupulous about wearing masks.

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 * Wearing masks will be made compulsory outdoors from Aug. 8 to Aug. 30 in parts of Marseilles, France's second-largest city.

* Norway urged its citizens to avoid all travel abroad, even to countries with few cases, to prevent a resurgence in the virus. * Poland reported the sixth record daily rise in two weeks, but ruled out a new nationwide lockdown.

* Hungary has ordered close to 5 million vaccine doses under a European Union scheme to provide potential vaccines. * Switzerland signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to the vaccine under development.

AMERICAS * The U.S. Senate's No. 2 Democrat said President Donald Trump cannot solve the need for coronavirus relief using his executive authority, one day after talks between the White House and congressional Democrats appeared to stall.

* The U.S. State Department urged citizens not to travel to Mexico, despite easing a global travel ban, and warned of the rapid spread of the virus in the nation. * Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree that will set aside $356 million in funds to purchase and eventually produce the potential vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University researchers.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Russia has offered to supply a coronavirus vaccine to the Philippines, or team up with a local firm to mass produce it, as infections in the Southeast Asian nation surge.

* India's total number of cases has climbed above 2 million. * Hong Kong will offer free voluntary testing for residents, as it races to contain a resurgence of the virus.

* Japan will buy 120 million doses of AstraZeneca's experimental vaccine from early next year. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Africa's confirmed cases have surpassed 1 million, a Reuters tally showed. * Oman will lift a two-week domestic ban on travel between provinces a day earlier than planned, before the expected arrival of a large tropical storm.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Pfizer Inc has signed a multi-year agreement to manufacture Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir, and Britain's Hikma Pharmaceuticals said it has started manufacturing remdesivir at its Portugal plant.

* South Korean biotech firm Genexine Inc received regulatory approval for a Phase I human clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus treatment drug. * Takeda Pharmaceutical will manufacture and sell up to 250 million doses of Novavax Inc's vaccine candidate in Japan every year.

* The Serum Institute of India will partner with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and international vaccine alliance GAVI to manufacture and deliver 100 million vaccine doses for India and other low- and middle-income nations as early as 2021. ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* Germany's federal ministries proposed bringing forward 26 billion euros' ($31 billion) worth of spending to help the economy recover, Der Spiegel reported. * Canada's unemployment rate fell to 10.9% in July as the economy continued to reopen.

* U.S. employment growth likely slowed significantly in July amid a resurgence in new infections. * Extending Britain's furlough scheme would leave some workers trapped in false hope that they could return to their jobs after the pandemic, finance minister said.

(Compiled by Milla Nissi, Linda Pasquini and Devika Syamnath; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Hugh Lawson)

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