FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* A "supersonic" rise in French COVID-19 cases is set to continue in the coming days and there are no signs of the trend reversing, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. AMERICAS * The United States has the tools needed to keep schools open despite a surge of cases, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said. * Canada will ramp up supplies of rapid COVID-19 tests to the country's 10 provinces as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, promising better days ahead.

Britain and Israel are overhauling their COVID-19 testing policies as governments seek to ease the burden on laboratories and struggle with tight supplies of kits amid soaring infection rates fuelled by the Omicron variant. 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

* Italy reported a record daily number of new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday at 189,109, Turkey recorded 66,467 new infections in the last 24 hours, the highest daily figure yet, while Sweden set a daily record of 17,320 infections on Jan. 4. * Britain on Wednesday reported record COVID-19 prevalence for the last week of 2021, with one in 15 people in England infected, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cases were increasing at the fastest rate so far.

* Croatia reported a record 8,587 new cases on Wednesday, a 47% rise from the 5,845 a day earlier. * A "supersonic" rise in French COVID-19 cases is set to continue in the coming days and there are no signs of the trend reversing, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.

AMERICAS * The United States has the tools needed to keep schools open despite a surge of cases, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said.

* Canada will ramp up supplies of rapid COVID-19 tests to the country's 10 provinces as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, promising better days ahead. * Rio de Janeiro has cancelled street parades and parties during its world-famous Carnival for a second year because of an increase in cases and the threat from the arrival of the Omicron variant.

ASIA-PACIFIC * A diabetic man who died in the western state of Rajasthan was India's first fatality from the Omicron variant, as overall infections doubled to 58,097 over the last four days.

* The southern Japanese island chain of Okinawa emerged on Wednesday as the epicentre of a new virus surge, with cases more than doubling from the previous day. Officials were considering imposing emergency curbs, while Tokyo authorities may also ask the government to reinstate emergency measures. * Hong Kong announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries, including the United States and Britain, and tightened restrictions as authorities feared a fifth wave of infections.

* South Korea signed an agreement to buy additional courses of Pfizer Inc's antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid to cover 400,000 people. AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

*COVID-19 infections caused more disruption to African Cup of Nations preparations, with Senegal delaying their departure for the tournament in Cameroon, and Burkina Faso set to miss players in Sunday’s opening game. * Israel changed its quarantine and testing policy in an effort to ensure continued protection for vulnerable populations from a surge in infections.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * India has not added Merck's COVID-19 pill to its national treatment protocol for the disease due to some "major safety concerns", a senior health official said.

* U.S. health officials are weighing the role of COVID-19 tests as part of their new guidelines shortening quarantines for people without symptoms, saying more details could come within days. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* U.S. stocks were mixed and Treasury yields largely unchanged on Wednesday following earlier gains to start the new year and ahead of Federal Reserve meeting minutes to be released later in the day. * U.S. lawmakers will discuss another possible round of COVID-19 stimulus spending for businesses, seeking to blunt the impact of Omicron, the Washington Post reported.

* The euro zone's economic recovery stuttered in December as a renewed wave of infections curtailed growth in the bloc's dominant service industry, a survey showed. (Compiled by Anita Kobylinska and Boleslaw Lasocki; Edited by Milla Nissi and Barbara Lewis)