FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

* India reported another record daily jump of 83,883 infections, taking its tally to 3.85 million, just 100,000 behind Brazil, the world's second most affected nation. AMERICAS * The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a potential vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as late-October, documents published by the agency showed. * Brazil's COVID-19 death toll appears to be easing for the first time since May, data shows, a sign the country could be descending from a long infection plateau.

Seventy-six wealthy nations are now committed to joining a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to help buy and fairly distribute the shots.

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 * The weekly number of positive cases in England in late August was the highest since the end of May, the latest data from the test and trace scheme showed.

* The Czech Republic reported 650 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, its highest number for a single day since the start of the pandemic. * Turkey is experiencing the second peak of its novel coronavirus outbreak, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

* Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed to carry on with political activities ahead of local elections in September after testing positive for COVID-19. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Thailand on Thursday reported its first local transmission in more than 100 days, after a man who was recently imprisoned failed a routine test at a Bangkok jail. * Indonesia posted another day of record high cases on Thursday, with 3,622 new infections.

* China has offered experimental vaccines to aviation industry workers, in a push to inoculate high-risk groups to prevent a possible resurgence as economies reopen. * India reported another record daily jump of 83,883 infections, taking its tally to 3.85 million, just 100,000 behind Brazil, the world's second most affected nation.

AMERICAS * The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a potential vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as late-October, documents published by the agency showed.

* Brazil's COVID-19 death toll appears to be easing for the first time since May, data shows, a sign the country could be descending from a long infection plateau. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* All countries should join hands in a global effort to procure and distribute potential vaccines across the globe, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. * South Africa's auditor general said that some of the money in its 500 billion rand ($30 billion) COVID-19 relief package may have been fraudulently paid to improper beneficiaries.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Members of an independent panel examining how the World Health Organization and countries handled the pandemic were named on Thursday, including former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and Britain's former foreign secretary David Miliband.

* Britain is putting 500 million pounds ($666 million) into trials of rapid COVID-19 tests and into population-testing for the disease, the health ministry said on Thursday. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* France will spend 100 billion euros to help pull its economy out of one of Europe's worst coronavirus-induced slumps. * The euro zone's rebound from its deepest economic downturn on record faltered in August, with some countries in the bloc suffering from restrictions more than others.

* Europe kept record high world share markets marching forward on Thursday, while the dollar was in fightback mode and government bonds steadied after European Central Bank efforts to tame the euro. * U.S. employers announced another 115,762 job cuts in August, led by struggling airlines as the pandemic weighs on travel and financial assistance from the government lapses.

* Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga signaled readiness to compile a third extra budget to respond to the pandemic if he succeeds outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Compiled by Anita Kobylinska and Uttaresh.V; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Tomasz Janowski)