FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

China's commercial hub of Shanghai ground to halt on Friday after the government locked down most of the city's 26 million residents to stop the spread of COVID-19, even as official numbers put local cases falling for the second day in a row. 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 officials have begun to receive fines for COVID regulation breaches, Sky News reported, days after police said an initial 20 fines would be handed out after an investigation into lockdown parties. * The prevalence of the virus among people in England rose in the week ending March 26 to its highest since the pandemic began, data showed.

* Italy began to phase out its COVID-19 restrictions, ending a state of emergency public authorities declared more than two years ago that allowed it to bypass bureaucracy and swiftly impose rules via decrees. AMERICAS

* U.S. Senate negotiators on Thursday were nearing a deal on a $10 billion COVID-19 bill to help the federal government acquire more vaccines and medical supplies as it prepares for future variants of the virus that upended American life. * News the United States is poised to end a pandemic-related border expulsion policy is buoying hopes of thousands of migrants who have waited months in Mexico for a chance to seek asylum in the United States.

* CIA Director William Burns has tested positive for COVID-19 and will work from home and quarantine for five days before returning to the office, the U.S intelligence agency's public affairs office said on Thursday. * More than a third of high school students surveyed in the United States experienced stress, anxiety or depression, and nearly a fifth said they seriously considered suicide during the pandemic, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Malaysia has fully reopened its borders, dropping quarantine requirements for people vaccinated against COVID-19 after two years of strict travel restrictions.

* South Korea said it would further relax its social distancing rules next week and possibly scrap most pandemic-related curbs later this month, including an obligation to wear masks outdoors. * China's COVID-19 curbs are disrupting the supply of fertiliser to the country's northeastern bread basket just a month away from spring planting, threatening this year's corn and soybean crops if not resolved soon.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * The world's first "human challenge" trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus has found that symptoms had no effect on how likely an infected person is to pass the disease on to others.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * More than half of U.S. multinational companies in China have reduced their annual revenue projections, mostly due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, according to a survey.

* China's factory activity slumped at the fastest pace in two years in March, as the domestic COVID-19 resurgence and the economic fallout from the Ukraine war triggered sharp falls in production and demand, a business survey showed on Friday. * Japan's manufacturing activity grew at a faster pace from the prior month in March as domestic demand got a lift from the waning impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

* Most Asian factories saw activity slow in March, as slumping Chinese demand and rising raw material costs blamed on the Ukraine crisis added strains to firms already suffering from lingering supply chain disruptions. (Compiled by Valentine Baldassari and Rashmi Aich; Edited by Anil D'Silva and Arun Koyyur)