FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci will meet with President-elect Joe Biden's team on Thursday for his first substantive talks with the new administration. * Mexico's president said he hopes distribution of Pfizer's vaccine will begin this month, a day after the government said it had agreed to acquire 34.4 million doses.

The promise of COVID-19 vaccines is "potentially game-changing", Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Europe said, as it looks at possible "e-vaccination certificates" for travel.

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

* The WHO's European office is planning to meet next week with health ministers of its 53 member states to look into protecting schools, while Swedish high schools will switch to distance learning from Dec. 7. * There is no guarantee that Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine will be distributed in English care homes but the health service is working on a solution, an official said, as total UK deaths surpassed 60,000.

* Spain's Catalonia will not relax restrictions on Monday as planned because of worsening infection rates. * Bosnia's top Catholic cleric has been taken to hospital after contracting COVID-19.

* An empty Paris hotel, typically a tourist magnet with views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur church, has opened its doors to the homeless for a year. AMERICAS

* U.S. President Donald Trump said he would support a coronavirus relief bill, as lawmakers in Congress seek to hammer out an agreement to help Americans hit by the economic fallout before the end of the year. * White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci will meet with President-elect Joe Biden's team on Thursday for his first substantive talks with the new administration.

* Mexico's president said he hopes distribution of Pfizer's vaccine will begin this month, a day after the government said it had agreed to acquire 34.4 million doses. * Chile extended a state of catastrophe that allows control of movement of people through curfews and lockdowns.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Indonesia recorded its biggest daily rise in infections on Thursday, with its COVID-19 task force attributing the jump to a lag in some areas reporting cases.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Africa aims to have 60% of its population vaccinated against COVID-19 within the next two to three years, the African Union's disease control group said.

* Coronavirus restrictions, reduced remittances, locusts, floods and significant underfunding of the 2020 aid response are exacerbating hunger in Yemen, where almost half the population is experiencing acute food insecurity. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Facebook said it would remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts, following a similar YouTube announcement in October. * Brazil's Butantan Institute received 1 million doses of a Chinese vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech that is undergoing late-stage testing in the country.

* Sanofi will announce the price of the potential vaccine it is developing with GlaxoSmithKline after it releases Phase I/II results. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* World equity benchmarks rose along with safe haven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury bonds as hopes for a vaccine-led economic recovery offset warnings the death toll from the pandemic could spike in coming weeks. * Global progress toward energy efficiency has slowed to its lowest rate in 10 years due to subdued prices amid COVID-19, the International Energy Agency said, dealing a setback to efforts to curb climate change.

* IMF talks with Argentina over a new loan program are "constructive," with Argentine officials expected to come to Washington in coming days, an IMF spokesman said. * The economic damage on the Philippines is more severe than previously thought, officials said, forcing the government to forecast a deeper contraction of 8.5%-9.5% for 2020.

(Compiled by Sarah Morland; Edited by Kirsten Donovam)