FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* It is a long road back to business as usual from the pandemic, the head of Britain's coronavirus genome sequencing effort told Reuters, adding she was on alert for new mutations to the Delta variant that is sweeping the world. ECONOMIC IMPACT * Stock markets fell on Monday as concerns over tighter regulations in China mounted amid caution ahead of a huge week for U.S. corporate earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting. * German business morale fell unexpectedly in July on continuing supply chain worries and amid rising infections, a survey showed, the first decline since January.

The World Bank and the COVAX global vaccine distribution program unveiled on Monday a financing mechanism to speed the supply of doses to developing countries, where inoculation rates lag far behind those of richer nations.

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 * The COVID-19 health crisis has led to a food crisis, and the world must ensure access to food supplies as forcefully as it moved to ensure access to vaccines, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at the opening of the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome.

* London's Heathrow Airport and Britain's main airlines urged the UK to open up travel to vaccinated passengers or face more job losses, as hopes rose that travellers from the United States could be given the green light this week. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Thailand reported a record number of infections, while neighbouring Malaysia has more than a million, as the virulent Delta variant carves a deadly path through Southeast Asia, now a global epicentre for the virus. * China reported 76 new cases on July 25, the highest daily total since January amid a surge of local infections in the eastern city of Nanjing, which started a second round of mass testing and banned taxis and cars of ride-hailing companies from leaving the city to curb the outbreak.

* South Korea said it has been informed by Moderna of an unspecified production issue involving its vaccine, as the country expands its inoculation campaign for people aged 55-59 amid a fourth wave of infections. * Australia's most populous state reported a rise in new cases despite a weeks-long stay-at-home order, while police vowed to crack down on any repeat of a anti-lockdown protest which turned violent at the weekend.

AMERICAS * The United States will not lift any existing travel restrictions "at this point" because of concerns over the highly transmissible Delta variant and the rising number of U.S. cases, a White House official told Reuters.

* China National Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (Sinopharm) has applied for emergency use authorization for its vaccine in Brazil, according to a health agency statement. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare will supply the first batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the country from July 26, the drugmaker said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The Delta variant is the fastest, fittest and most formidable version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 the world has encountered, and it is upending assumptions about the disease even as nations loosen restrictions and open their economies, according to virologists and epidemiologists. * It is a long road back to business as usual from the pandemic, the head of Britain's coronavirus genome sequencing effort told Reuters, adding she was on alert for new mutations to the Delta variant that is sweeping the world.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Stock markets fell on Monday as concerns over tighter regulations in China mounted amid caution ahead of a huge week for U.S. corporate earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting.

* German business morale fell unexpectedly in July on continuing supply chain worries and amid rising infections, a survey showed, the first decline since January. (Compiled by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Grant McCool)