FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Australian authorities trying to stamp out an outbreak in Sydney of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 said on Monday that the next two days would be "absolutely critical" in deciding whether to extend a stay-home order beyond July 9. 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

* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out plans for the final step of easing COVID-19 lockdown in England, including guidance on social distancing, face coverings and working from home. * British royal Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, is self-isolating and has cancelled her engagements after someone she came into contact with subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, her office said.

* Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was admitted to hospital on Sunday following a positive test at the end of June, according to media reports. * Ukraine has approved the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, the health ministry said.

* Health Minister Olivier Veran on Sunday urged as many French people as possible to get a vaccine, warning that France could be heading for a fourth wave of the pandemic by the end of the month due to the highly transmissible Delta variant. ASIA-PACIFIC

* South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna to produce shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immediately, a senior government official said. * Health authorities in Ruili, a Chinese city in the southwestern province of Yunnan bordering Myanmar, reported three locally transmitted cases on Monday.

* Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritise medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply of the life-saving gas was almost exhausted. AMERICAS

* Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday he will give the COVAX system an ultimatum this week to send the country's share of vaccines as all pending payments had been made to the global vaccine-sharing scheme. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* The United Arab Emirates has approved Moderna's vaccine for emergency use, the fifth vaccine to receive such approval by the Gulf Arab state, the health ministry said in a statement to state news agency WAM on Sunday. * Israel is in talks with other countries about a deal to unload its surplus of Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines, doses of which are due to expire by the end of the month, officials said on Sunday.

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 * World stocks clung close to record highs on Monday as worries about the Delta variant offset positive sentiment from surging euro zone business activity and a welcome U.S. jobs report.

* Investor morale in the euro zone rose for the fifth month in a row in July, its highest level since February 2018, lifted by reopening restaurants and retailers as well as tourism as cases fall, a survey showed. * The Bank of Japan offered a cautiously optimistic view on the country's regional economies, pointing to divergent trends in areas gaining from robust exports and those still hurt by weak consumption due to the pandemic.