FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Coronavirus infections in the South Asia sub-region surpassed the grim milestone of 15 million over the weekend, while India reported a record surge on Monday to overtake Brazil as the world's second-most affected country by the pandemic. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA Tunisia approved Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, Health minister Faouzi Mehdi said, and will soon receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine under an African Union plan.

Coronavirus infections in the South Asia sub-region surpassed the grim milestone of 15 million over the weekend, while India reported a record surge on Monday to overtake Brazil as the world's second-most affected country by the pandemic.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of the news.

EUROPE

* Germany's vaccine task force will hold talks with the developers of Russia's Sputnik V shot, including the possibility of setting up more production sites in Germany, a government source told Reuters. * More than 10 million people in France have now received the first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

* Italy's government is preparing a new stimulus package worth more than 30 billion euros ($35.62 billion) to support its battered economy, driving up this year's budget deficit, a senior Treasury official said.

AMERICAS

* Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro blasted a pending Senate inquiry on his handling of a record-breaking COVID-19 outbreak, which global health officials compared to a "raging inferno." * Colombia will allow the private importation of COVID-19 vaccines, but the shots must be free for those being inoculated.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* China's output of vaccines could reach more than 3 billion doses by the end of 2021, a National Health Commission official said, while the country is also formally considering mixing vaccines to further boost the efficacy

* Thailand plans to install 10,000 field-hospital beds in Bangkok as the country strains to cope with a third wave of COVID-19 infections. * South Korea will move ahead with a second-quarter coronavirus vaccination drive starting on Monday as planned after deciding to continue using AstraZeneca's vaccine for all eligible people 30 years old or over.

* Strict COVID-19 lockdowns in the Philippines capital and four adjacent provinces will be eased from April 12. * India banned the export of anti-viral drug Remdesivir and its active pharmaceutical ingredients as demand rocketed due to a record surge in cases.

* Japan began vaccinations for its sizable elderly population on Monday, with imported doses still in short supply and the pace unlikely to stop the fourth wave of infection.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Tunisia approved Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, Health minister Faouzi Mehdi said, and will soon receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine under an African Union plan. * Iran imposed a 10-day lockdown across most of the country on Saturday.

* The African Union dropped plans to buy vaccines from the Serum Institute of India and is exploring options with Johnson & Johnson. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Europe's drug regulator said it is reviewing rare blood clots in four people in the United States who received Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine. * The China National Biotec Group Company (CNBG) has obtained regulatory approval to move a third COVID-19 vaccine candidate into the human testing stage in China.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares faltered on Monday as investors wait to see if U.S. earnings can justify sky-high valuations, while bond markets could be tested by what should be very strong readings for U.S. inflation and retail sales this week.

* The International Monetary Fund said countries in the Middle East and Central Asia need to curb their financing requirements, as a surge in government debt, exacerbated by the pandemic, threatens recovery prospects. * Japanese bank lending rose 6.3% in March from a year earlier as restaurants and hotels sought more loans to weather the pandemic hit.