FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

U.S. President Joe Biden led Americans in a moment of silence to mourn 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a phased plan to end England's lockdown that would keep some businesses shuttered until the summer.

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 * Italy extended a ban on non-essential travel between the country's 20 regions until March 27, while the number of people being treated in intensive care units in France exceeded 3,400 for the first time since Dec. 3.

* Germany is reworking its strategy to vaccinate the nation as its campaign, which has faltered due to a lack of supply, also faces public resistance to the shot from AstraZeneca . * Scotland's vaccination drive appears to be markedly reducing the risk of hospitalisation, preliminary study findings showed.

AMERICAS * U.S. COVID-19 deaths fell for a third straight week last week, as cases and hospitalizations both showed steep drops.

* The U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee approved legislation with $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief, advancing a top priority of President Biden toward a full House vote on passage expected later this week. * U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she will judge the success of the coronavirus stimulus plan by how quickly it returns the economy to pre-pandemic levels of unemployment.

* Pfizer expects to deliver more than 13 million vaccine doses per week to the United States by the middle of March, a top company executive said. * Movie theaters in New York City can reopen on March 5 at 25% capacity with no more than 50 people per screen, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Australia will ramp up its immunisation drive with more shots to be rolled out from next week, after a second shipment of the vaccine reached the country overnight.

* Singapore has been testing out a "bubble" business hotel that will allow quarantined executives arriving in the country to do face-to-face meetings. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Palestinians in Gaza began a limited vaccination programme after receiving doses donated by Russia and the United Arab Emirates. * Two of South Africa's prime commercial property owners will extend rental relief to struggling tenants this year.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Drugmakers should test any vaccines that have been retooled to combat new variants of the coronavirus in clinical trials designed to track the immune response of hundreds of subjects, which could take months, U.S. regulators said.

* GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi said they had started a new clinical trial of their protein-based vaccine candidate ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian stocks rebounded from two-week lows struck on Tuesday as rising commodity prices boosted market expectations of an improved growth outlook. * Japan's crude steel output fell 3.9% in January from a year earlier, dropping for the 11th consecutive month as the pandemic continued to dent demand, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said.

(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Veronica Snoj; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)