FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

As around 428,000 people were contacted by COVID contact tracers in England and told to self-isolate in the week to July 14, the health ministry said, the British government is working closely with those sectors impacted. 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 * EU countries have so far donated just a tiny portion of excess vaccines to poor nations, mostly AstraZeneca shots, an EU document shows. * Chancellor Angela Merkel said the rise in cases in Germany was worrying and urged people to get vaccinated.

Britain's supermarkets, wholesalers, and haulers were struggling to ensure stable food and fuel supplies after an official health app told hundreds of thousands of workers to isolate themselves after contact with someone with COVID-19. As around 428,000 people were contacted by COVID contact tracers in England and told to self-isolate in the week of July 14, the health ministry said, the British government is working closely with those sectors impacted.

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 * EU countries have so far donated just a tiny portion of excess vaccines to poor nations, mostly AstraZeneca shots, an EU document shows.

* Chancellor Angela Merkel said the rise in cases in Germany was worrying and urged people to get vaccinated. * Ireland will wait a few weeks before considering easing restrictions beyond Monday's planned resumption of indoor dining and drinking, deputy prime minister said.

* The fourth wave of infections should hit French hospitals in the second half of August, professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy said. ASIA-PACIFIC

* As Indonesia registered a record 1,449 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the country to implement a stricter and wider lockdown. * Vietnam is in talks with the United States on domestic production of mRNA vaccines, its foreign ministry said, while the U.S. government will send 3 million more doses of Moderna's vaccine to the Asian country, according to a White House official.

* Several doctors treating COVID-19 patients independently have been arrested by Myanmar's military, colleagues and media said. * South Korea reported another daily record of cases, as it struggles to tame its worst-ever wave of outbreaks.

* China, whose capital Beijing has fully vaccinated nearly 91% of its adult residents, rejected a WHO plan for the second phase of an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, a top health official said. * Taiwan has ordered a further 36 million doses of Moderna's vaccine, the government said.

* About 950 people will watch Friday's opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics at the main stadium from which spectators have been banned, one of the organizers said. AMERICAS

* Australia's prime minister apologized for a sluggish vaccination program, while the country's most populous state reported its biggest spike in cases in 16 months. * Defending champions Australia and New Zealand withdrew from the Rugby League World Cup in England, citing player welfare and safety concerns amid the pandemic.

* YouTube said on Wednesday it had removed videos from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's channel for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus outbreak. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Africa will start receiving the first batch of 400 million doses of vaccines from Johnson & Johnson next week, the African Union's special envoy on COVID said. * South Africa aims to have given at least one dose of vaccine to 35 million of its 60 million people by Christmas, a senior health official said on Wednesday.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Mexican authorities said on Wednesday they are in talks with Italian health authorities and biotech firm ReiThera about the possibility of producing the GRAd-COV2 COVID-19 vaccine in Mexico.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Stocks returned to near-record highs in Europe as investors bet on the European Central Bank keeping its stimulus taps full open as long as COVID remains a threat to growth.

* The European Central Bank pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for even longer to help sluggish inflation in the eurozone rise back to its elusive 2% target. * Indonesia's central bank held its key interest rate at a record low to support the economy but said recent anti-virus measures had hit activity less than expected.