FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

Europe faces a lengthy battle against COVID-19 at least until mid-2021, France warned after its confirmed cases crossed one million, while researchers said U.S. deaths could hit half a million by February unless nearly all Americans wear face masks.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE

* Belgium, one of the European countries worst hit by COVID-19, tightened curbs on social contacts by banning fans from sports matches and limiting numbers in cultural spaces. * Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis moved to sack his health minister for holding a meeting in a restaurant closed under government restrictions.

* Denmark is lowering the limit on public gatherings to 10 people from 50 and banning the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. * Italy has registered 19,143 new infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Friday, the highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak.

AMERICAS * Mexico's health ministry said six of its 32 federal entities are now showing signs of new outbreaks, after previously bringing down the number of infections.

* The Peruvian government refused to sign a vaccine purchase agreement with AstraZeneca because it did not provide sufficient data from its studies and offered minimal amounts of inoculations. * Brazil's Sao Paulo governor Joao Doria said that the federal health regulator Anvisa told him that they will not bow to political pressure over the approval of potential coronavirus vaccines.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India is urgently preparing a database of all government and private health personnel to quickly vaccinate them once it is safe to do so.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Iran is planning new restrictions, including state employees working every other day in the capital Tehran, after a record surge in cases on Friday, a senior official said.

* Turkey will evaluate possible new measures as the outbreak flares, President Tayyip Erdogan said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Health officials reviewing Gilead Science Inc's remdesivir against COVID-19 should consider all evidence, including a trial where the medicine failed, before giving it the green light, the top WHO scientist said. * AstraZeneca Plc has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by U.S. regulators, the company said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Euro zone economic activity has slipped back into decline this month as renewed restrictions forced many businesses in the bloc's dominant service industry to limit operations.

* Consumer confidence in Brazil fell in October for the first time in six months, a survey indicated, with persistent worries over the pandemic weighing heavily and suggesting that the economy's recovery may be losing steam. 

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