FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has submitted applications to the World Health Organization for an Emergency Use Listing and prequalification of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global stocks and the euro tumbled on Wednesday as coronavirus infections rose in Europe and the United States, igniting fears of strict lockdowns that would damage already fragile economic recoveries. * Canada's initial rebound from the COVID-19 economic crisis was stronger than expected, but the second wave is poised to cause a "more pronounced" near-term slowing in the recuperation phase, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday.

Germany and France prepared to announce restrictions approaching those of the strict lockdowns earlier this year as COVID-19 deaths across Europe rose almost 40% in a week.

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

* German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is planning to take on "much more debt" than initially planned next year to finance new coronavirus aid measures and help companies survive the second wave of the pandemic, a government source said on Wednesday. * Public transport in Italy is increasingly seen by experts and policymakers as one of the places where the risk of contracting COVID-19 is highest, as the government grapples with a surge in cases.

* Switzerland on Wednesday tightened nationwide restrictions to contain the country's rising wave of COVID-19 cases, ordering dance clubs to be closed from Thursday, halting in-person university classes starting early next month, and placing new limits on sporting and leisure activities. AMERICAS

* Nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days, according to a Reuters tally, as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the Midwest. * The United Nations cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters after five people in Niger's U.N. mission were infected.

ASIA-PACIFIC * India reported 43,893 new cases in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed, while health authorities in one of the country's most populous states faced a big test with the first state assembly election being held since the epidemic began, despite calls to postpone it.

* Mainland China reported 42 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 27, the highest daily toll in more than two months due to a rise in infections in the northwestern Xinjiang region. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Ghana's Finance Ministry revised up its 2020 growth forecast on Wednesday and forecast a rebound to 5.9% next year as the economy recovers from its first contraction in almost four decades due to the pandemic. * One person is dying from COVID-19 every three minutes in Iran, state television said on Wednesday, as the health ministry reported a record daily toll of 415 fatalities.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Belgian clinical studies to examine the effectiveness of blood plasma for people recovering from COVID-19 are at risk of being suspended because of low plasma stocks, doctors said, prompting a call for more blood donors to come forward.

* The woman in charge of procuring possible COVID-19 treatments for Britain said a fully effective vaccine might never be developed, and that any early versions that do get approved might not work at all for some people. * The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has submitted applications to the World Health Organization for an Emergency Use Listing and prequalification of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global stocks and the euro tumbled on Wednesday as coronavirus infections rose in Europe and the United States, igniting fears of strict lockdowns that would damage already fragile economic recoveries.

* Canada's initial rebound from the COVID-19 economic crisis was stronger than expected, but the second wave is poised to cause a "more pronounced" near-term slowing in the recuperation phase, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday. * U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief deal would likely come after the Nov. 3 election, with the White House unable to bridge differences with fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate as well as congressional Democrats.

(Compiled by Anna Rzhevkina, Linda Pasquini, Vinay Dwivedi and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing Barbara Lewis and Chris Reese)