FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

The raging COVID-19 pandemic claimed its highest U.S. death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, while China reported the biggest rise in daily cases in more than five months. 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 * Almost 1.5 million people have been vaccinated, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, vowing to quickly expand a programme to inoculate the most vulnerable in Britain by mid-February. * Spain became the fourth Western European country to pass 2 million cumulative cases, health ministry data showed.

The raging COVID-19 pandemic claimed its highest U.S. death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, while China reported the biggest rise in daily cases in more than five months.

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 * Almost 1.5 million people have been vaccinated, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, vowing to quickly expand a programme to inoculate the most vulnerable in Britain by mid-February.

* Spain became the fourth Western European country to pass 2 million cumulative cases, health ministry data showed. * France will keep its restaurants, cinemas and ski resorts closed while it cranks up its vaccination roll-out.

* Britain's move to delay the second doses of vaccines will help save lives as more people will be able to get some initial protection, health minister Matt Hancock said. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Japan moved ahead with plans to impose a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures. * 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.

AMERICAS * Mexico saw one of the biggest daily rises in cases and deaths.

* Canada's Quebec province will impose a curfew starting on Saturday and extend an existing lockdown through Feb. 8. * Colombia's capital will enter a strict quarantine until Tuesday due to rising infections and suspicions a new variant of the virus is circulating, Mayor of Bogota Claudia Lopez said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * As Israel leads the world in the rate of coronavirus vaccinations, some of its Arab citizens and Palestinians in annexed East Jerusalem are regarding the shot with suspicion.

* 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.

* South Africa's two biggest pharmacy chains, Clicks Group and Dis-Chem Pharmacies, said they plan to offer COVID-19 shots at their stores. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech was 78% effective in a late-stage Brazilian trial and entirely prevented severe cases, researchers said, although a lack of data details stirred calls for more transparency. * France's Sanofi is considering how it can help produce vaccines devised by other drugmakers, a spokesman said.

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

* The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dipped last week while staying extremely high, with the labour market recovery appearing to stall. (Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Bartosz Dabrowski; Edited by William Maclean and Shounak Dasgupta)