FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

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 medicines regulator has approved a scale-up of Johnson & Johnson's plant in Leiden, the Netherlands, that produces the drug substance used in its vaccine.

The highly contagious Delta variant is gaining ground in Italy and now counts for a third of the cases in France, while India's official death toll from the virus topped 400,000, though experts believe the actual number could be a million or higher. 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 medicines regulator has approved a scale-up of Johnson & Johnson's plant in Leiden, the Netherlands, that produces the drug substance used in its vaccine. * Ireland has agreed in principle to buy one million vaccines from Romania, just days after Romania agreed to offload over 1 million excess shots to fellow EU member Denmark.

* Slovakia has sold most Sputnik V vaccines back to Russia, as public interest is low after months of government hesitation over using the product that lacks European regulatory approval. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Tokyo Olympics organisers will not insist on allowing spectators "at all costs" amid concerns about a fresh wave of infections three weeks before the event begins. * Newly arrived overseas tourists on Thailand's Phuket were able to roam free without quarantine for the first time in more than a year, as the country launched a special programme for vaccinated visitors to the island.

* Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Taiwan's Foxconn, and TSMC reached initial agreements to buy 5 million doses each of BioNTech's vaccine, three sources told Reuters. AMERICAS

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of an additional batch of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine made at the problem-plagued Baltimore factory of Emergent BioSolutions. * At least 26,000 out-of-date AstraZeneca shots have been administered in Brazil, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Friday, citing Health Ministry data.

* Brazil's top prosecutor agreed to request an investigation of President Jair Bolsonaro for dereliction of duty in the process of procuring an Indian vaccine. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The United Arab Emirates banned citizens from travelling to India, Bangladesh and some other countries, state news agency WAM reported. * South Africa registered more than 24,000 cases on Friday, its highest tally of new infections since the pandemic began.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * A lack of side effects after receiving an mRNA vaccine does not mean the immune system has failed to respond, and such a type of shot limits rare breakthrough infections, researchers have found.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Global stock markets rose on Friday as a better-than-expected U.S. monthly jobs report signalled a strong end to the second quarter for the world's largest economy, while U.S. bond prices fell as investors worried about the Federal Reserve's response.

* Canadian factory activity grew at the slowest pace in four months in June as material shortages persisted and inflation pressures rose, but the rate of expansion remained vigorous. (Compiled by Ramakrishnan M., Milla Nissi and Veronica Snoj; Editing by Giles Elgood and Sriraj Kalluvila)