FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China reported the biggest rise in daily COVID-19 cases in more than five months as Heibei province authorities imposed stricter curbs, while Japan moved ahead with plans to impose a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures.

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 * The pace of Britain's rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is being limited by the supply of shots, and the government is working with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca to increase supplies, health minister Matt Hancock said.

* A field hospital in London will be used if necessary to relieve pressure on other hospitals in the city, the British health minister said after leaked official documents suggested London risked running out of beds within two weeks. * Italy's medicines regulator AIFA said it approved the use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna Inc., paving the way for its roll-out across Italy.

ASIA-PACIFIC * The capital and largest city in northern China's Hebei province barred people from leaving in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus as the country reported the biggest rise in daily infections in more than five months.

* Japan declared a limited state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and three neighbouring prefectures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. * Indonesia's highest Muslim clerical council aims to issue a ruling on whether a vaccine is permissible under Islam before the country is due to start inoculations. Indonesia reported a daily record of 9,321 new infections on Thursday.

AMERICAS * Mexico saw one of the biggest daily rises in cases and deaths, while health authorities said a doctor who had a serious allergic reaction after receiving Pfizer Inc and BioNTech's vaccine remained hospitalised.

* Brazil is ready to begin vaccinating its population this month, and the country has secured a total of 354 million vaccine doses for 2021. * Canada's Quebec province will impose a curfew starting on Saturday and extend an existing lockdown through Feb. 8, while the country will start inoculating its federal prison inmates from Friday.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * South Africa set out plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population, in a bid to achieve herd immunity, as a mutant variant drove daily new cases above 21,000 for the first time.

* Kenya has ordered 24 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and expects them to start arriving in the second week of February. * Senegal is trying to acquire vaccines to complement those it will get through the World Health Organization-backed global COVAX scheme.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Moderna's vaccine is likely to offer protection of up to a couple of years, its chief executive said, even though more data is still needed to make a definitive assessment.

* German biotech firm CureVac has agreed an alliance with drugmaker Bayer to help it seek regulatory approval for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and distribute doses, the two companies said. * European countries rolling out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should be flexible on the time between the first and second doses, the World Health Organization's director for the region said.

* Abu Dhabi has started Phase III clinical trials of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine amid a surge in infections in the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi's media office said. * A vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech was 78% effective in a late-stage Brazilian trial and entirely prevented severe cases, a source said, boosting Chinese efforts to catch up with Western vaccine makers.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Bonds dropped and stocks rose on Thursday as investors bet Democrat control of the U.S. Congress would enable President-elect Joe Biden to borrow and spend heavily, while a bruised dollar strained to recover from near-three year lows.

(Compiled by Bartosz Dabrowski, Anita Kobylinska and Ramakrishnan M., Editing by William Maclean)