FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Coronavirus infections and related deaths in Germany are likely to rise further in the coming weeks, a senior health official at the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI) said. * Belarus will close its borders to its own citizens later this month, a move the country's opposition leader likened to imprisoning the population in a Stalin-era prison camp.

Britain's economic recovery almost ground to a halt in October as a surge in coronavirus cases hammered the hospitality sector, increasing the chances that the economy will shrink over the final three months of 2020.

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

* Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said that documents related to the development of their COVID-19 vaccine had been "unlawfully accessed" in a cyberattack on Europe's medicines regulator. * Coronavirus infections and related deaths in Germany are likely to rise further in the coming weeks, a senior health official at the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI) said.

* Belarus will close its borders to its own citizens later this month, a move the country's opposition leader likened to imprisoning the population in a Stalin-era prison camp. AMERICAS

* The United States on Wednesday crossed an ominous new threshold of more than 3,250 lives lost to COVID-19 in a single day, while public health officials stepped up preparations for a vaccine campaign of historic scope ahead of final regulatory review. * Canada approved its first COVID-19 vaccine and said initial shots will be delivered and administered across the country starting next week.

* Brazil reported 53,453 more confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily rate since mid-August, and 836 deaths, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. * Mexico on Wednesday signed an agreement to buy 35 million doses of Chinese firm Cansino Biologics' COVID-19 vaccine.

ASIA-PACIFIC * A passenger who tested positive aboard a 'cruise-to-nowhere' from Singapore, forcing the ship to return to dock and nearly 1,700 guests to isolate, has been found not to have the virus, Singapore's health ministry said.

* Japan said it will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store vaccines, as the capital Tokyo reported a record number of new cases. * Indonesia has secured 155.5 million doses of vaccines and is seeking another 116 million through deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and global vaccine programme COVAX.

* South Korea scrambled to build hospital beds in shipping containers to ease strains on medical facilities stretched by the latest coronavirus wave. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Israel received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday and a distributor predicted the country would have enough for about a quarter of the population by the end of the year. * Abu Dhabi will resume economic, tourist and entertainment activity within two weeks, while Oman said it will exempt nationals of 103 countries from needing an entry visa for a stay of up to 10 days.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Johnson & Johnson said it has cut enrolment for its pivotal vaccine trial to 40,000 volunteers from its original plan for 60,000, as higher rates of COVID-19 infections should generate the data it needs with fewer study subjects.

* Australian scientists said they had developed a rapid genome sequencing method that would cut to within four hours the time taken to trace the source of coronavirus cases. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Bets on more European Central Bank stimulus kept Europe's main stock markets and the euro steady on Thursday but Britain's pound saw its biggest drop in almost a month after overnight Brexit talks turned sour. * Oil rose above $49 a barrel as hopes of a faster demand recovery after the release of vaccines offset a huge rise in U.S. crude inventories that showed there was still ample supply available.

* Japan is likely to sell over $1 trillion of new government bonds this fiscal year to fund its huge stimulus packages, sources said, as the coronavirus crisis guts tax revenues and strains already tattered finances.