FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* An Argentine firm has produced test batches of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first in Latin America, with aims to scale up manufacturing by mid-year. ASIA-PACIFIC * South Korea's foreign minister said on Wednesday he hopes the United States will help Seoul address its COVID-19 vaccine shortage as a return in favour of the test kits and masks it sent to Washington earlier in the pandemic. * Indian authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, Delhi, as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said.

Japan's government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka as new COVID-19 case numbers surge, broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, a move that would enable prefectural authorities to impose curbs to try to stop infections spreading.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

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

EUROPE

* Johnson & Johnson said it will resume rolling out its COVID-19 vaccine in Europe after the region's medical regulator said the benefits of the shot outweigh the risk of very rare, potentially lethal blood clots. * The Netherlands will ease lockdown measures from next week despite high infection rates and said it would resume the use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine from Wednesday.

* Iceland's government said it would propose tightening some of its border controls to ease domestic restrictions.

AMERICAS

* Canada and the United States extended a land-border closure for non-essential travelers, while air passengers arriving in Canada will continue to be tested for COVID-19 ahead of a hotel quarantine period.

* Canada's biggest city Toronto and neighboring Peel, both of which are in the middle of the third wave of infections, said they would order businesses to close if they had outbreaks involving five or more people.

* Brazil is in talks to buy another 100 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, Communications Minister Fabio Faria said, as the country scrambles to procure more shots after a sluggish start to its vaccination program. * An Argentine firm has produced test batches of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first in Latin America, with aims to scale up manufacturing by mid-year.

ASIA-PACIFIC * South Korea's foreign minister said on Wednesday he hopes the United States will help Seoul address its COVID-19 vaccine shortage as a return in favor of the test kits and masks it sent to Washington earlier in the pandemic.

* Indian authorities scrambled to shore up supplies of medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, Delhi, as a fast-spreading second wave of coronavirus stretched medical infrastructure to breaking point, officials and doctors said. * Australia's Victoria state unveiled plans to develop an onshore messenger-RNA vaccine manufacturing facility and launched three mass coronavirus immunization centers to speed up the national inoculation program.

* Thailand is trying to secure 35 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines from two or three firms this year on top of existing orders of around 65 million doses, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said.

* India has waived the import duty on COVID-19 drug Remdesivir until Oct. 31, as infections surge to record highs and lead to a shortage of anti-viral medicine.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The United Arab Emirates has warned it could impose restrictions on people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 as the region's business and tourism hub pushes its immunization campaign.

* Israel expects to include children in its second round of vaccinations and said it had signed a new agreement to buy Moderna's booster shot against COVID-19 variants.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A German scientist studying extremely rare blood clots linked to AstraZeneca's vaccine said Johnson & Johnson has agreed to work with him on the research after similar serious side effects emerged in recipients of its shot.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares and U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday as concern about a resurgence of coronavirus cases in some countries cast doubt on the strength of global economic growth and demand for crude oil.