FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Governors of three prefectures near the Olympics host city Tokyo are likely to ask the government to declare states of emergency for their regions after infections spiked to a record high in the Japanese capital.

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 * Britain on Tuesday reported its highest number of deaths and people in hospital with the coronavirus since March, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging caution despite a week of lower reported numbers of infections.

* Ireland became the latest European Union member state to commit to offering COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 12-15 as it opened its strongly subscribed program to 16 and 17-year olds on Tuesday. ASIA-PACIFIC

* The Australian city of Sydney extended a lockdown by four weeks after an already protracted stay-at-home order failed to douse a COVID-19 outbreak. * South Korea reported 1,896 new cases, its highest-ever daily increase, as the country struggles to subdue a fourth wave of outbreaks.

* The Indian government expects to have around 150 million vaccine doses in August, Vinod Kumar Paul, who heads a federal government panel on vaccines, told a news conference. AMERICAS

* Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should go back to wearing masks in indoor public places in regions where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, U.S. health authorities said. * The board of Brazilian health agency Anvisa has provisionally suspended its import authorization for Bharat Biotech's vaccine while it seeks information.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Israel is considering giving a third shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to its elderly population even before FDA approval to help fend off the Delta variant.

* Libya's government imposed a two-week curfew in some local councils. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna said its vaccine manufacturing partners outside the United States are facing delays due to laboratory testing operations that have occurred in the past few days. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares stayed stuck at seven-month lows, as markets continued to digest a storm in Chinese equity markets, while currency markets were quiet with traders wary of placing large bets prior to the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting. * Bank of Japan policymakers appeared undeterred by increasing global debate on withdrawing crisis-mode stimulus, with some calling for the need to avoid a premature tightening of monetary policy.

* Australia's consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in almost 13 years last quarter as petrol jumped and government subsidies unwound, but a far tamer reading for core inflation suggested the spike would be fleeting.