FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Spain's Catalonia region tightened restrictions, Scotland ordered people to stay at home and Germany headed towards extending its lockdown until Jan. 31. AMERICAS * Brazil has confirmed its first two cases of the new British coronavirus variant, Sao Paulo state's health secretariat said. * New York state will begin fining hospitals that do not administer allotted COVID-19 vaccines within a week of receiving their supplies and will decline to provide them with further doses, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was poised to introduce tougher coronavirus restrictions in England at midnight on Monday, in a new national lockdown to try to reduce a surge in COVID-19 cases.

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

EUROPE * Spanish doctors and health experts expressed frustration on Monday at the slow start to the country's campaign to inoculate people against COVID-19, with fewer than 90,000 people vaccinated since the EU approved a vaccine two weeks ago.

* The underlying level of COVID-19 disease in Ireland is now higher than during the first wave in April and May after authorities reported another daily record of 6,110 cases on Monday. * Scottish police have arrested Margaret Ferrier, a member of Britain's parliament, for allegedly breaking COVID-19 rules when she made a long train journey last year after testing positive for the virus.

* Germany weighed whether to allow a delay in administering a second dose of BioNTech and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to make scarce supplies go further, and Denmark approved a delay of up to six weeks. * The Dutch government will begin its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Wednesday, bringing the start forward by two days.

* UK scientists expressed concern on Monday that COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in Britain may not be able to protect against a new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in South Africa and has spread internationally. * Spain's Catalonia region tightened restrictions, Scotland ordered people to stay at home and Germany headed towards extending its lockdown until Jan. 31.

AMERICAS * Brazil has confirmed its first two cases of the new British coronavirus variant, Sao Paulo state's health secretariat said.

* New York state will begin fining hospitals that do not administer allotted COVID-19 vaccines within a week of receiving their supplies and will decline to provide them with further doses, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Vietnam's heath ministry has proposed suspending or limiting incoming flights from at least 34 countries and territories that have detected cases of the new COVID-19 variant first found in Britain, the government said on Monday. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Lebanon announced a full lockdown for three weeks, including a night curfew, to stem a rise in COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals in a country already facing financial meltdown. * The OPEC+ group of oil producers should be vigilant and cautious despite a generally optimistic market environment because demand for fuels is still fragile and the new variant of coronavirus is unpredictable, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said.

* eSwatini aims to vaccinate all its 1.3 million people against COVID-19 and will set aside at least 200 million emalangeni ($14 million) to do so, senior officials in the southern African kingdom said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Advaccine Biopharmaceuticals Suzhou Co Ltd will manufacture and sell Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc's COVID-19 vaccine candidate in China, the companies said. * India's Bharat Biotech is aiming to have a production capacity of about 700 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year, according to a top executive of the biotechnology company.

* Private Brazilian clinics plan to buy 5 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by India's Bharat Biotech, their association said in a statement on Monday. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* A global stock index fell on Monday, the first trading day of the new year, pulling back after recent gains to record highs, and the U.S. dollar was near flat. (Compiled by Amy Caren Daniel; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta)