FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* India reported a record 200,739 COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to data issued by the health ministry on Thursday. * Australian authorities should add more clinics to speed up the country's struggling COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, its main medical association said, dismissing a government plan to create mass inoculation hubs as unworkable in the near term.

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine remained in limbo on Wednesday as a U.S. health panel called for more data before making a decision on how and whether to resume use of the one-dose shot, putting off a vote for a week or more. 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

* Europe's choppy vaccine roll-out hit more trouble on Wednesday after U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson delayed its COVID-19 shot and Denmark said it would drop a similar vaccine from AstraZeneca over the risk of blood clotting. * Portugal will do its best to avoid visitors having to quarantine on arrival this summer, its secretary of state for tourism said.

* Spain is confident it can maintain its vaccination targets despite the United States suspending the J&J shot and delays to its European roll-out over clotting concerns. AMERICAS

* Top U.S. health officials urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying U.S. regulators' pause on J&J shots, following reports it can cause blood clotting, should boost confidence in the vaccines' safety. * Argentina's government will tighten pandemic restrictions in and around the capital Buenos Aires to rein in a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, including shutting schools and imposing a curfew from 8 p.m. to limit social activity.

* Brazil's richest and most populous state, Sao Paulo, has warned its ability to care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients is on the verge of collapse as it runs perilously low on key drugs, according to a letter to the federal government. ASIA-PACIFIC

* A senior Japanese ruling party official said cancelling this year's Olympics in Tokyo remains an option if the coronavirus crisis becomes too dire, as a fourth wave of infections surges less than 100 days from the planned start of the Games. * India reported a record 200,739 COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, according to data issued by the health ministry on Thursday.

* Australian authorities should add more clinics to speed up the country's struggling COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, its main medical association said, dismissing a government plan to create mass inoculation hubs as unworkable in the near term. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa has agreed to onerous conditions like non-refundable downpayments to secure vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, its health minister said, describing the terms vaccine manufacturers had demanded as "difficult and sometimes unreasonable". MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna met with Nexus Pharmaceuticals to discuss manufacturing the shot at the company's new plant in Wisconsin, which can process and fill 30 million doses a month, sources said. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Japan's economy was picking up but any recovery was likely to be modest due to lingering caution over the coronavirus pandemic, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned. * The U.S. economic recovery accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April as more consumers, buoyed by increased COVID-19 vaccinations and strong fiscal support, spent more on travel and other goods, the Federal Reserve reported.

(Compiled by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Ramakrishnan M., Anita Kobylinska and Juliette Portala; Edited by Anil D'Silva and Shounak Dasgupta)

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