FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Beijing closed some public spaces and stepped up checks at others on Thursday, as most of the city's 22 million residents embarked on more COVID-19 mass testing aimed at averting a Shanghai-like lockdown. * Shanghai is making more resources available to improve vaccination rates among the elderly as daily case numbers decline and it looks for a way out of four weeks of stringent lockdown restrictions.

Taiwan reported that the daily number of confirmed domestic COVID-19 cases had topped 10,000 for the first time, in line with predictions, and the health minister said infections would continue to rise. 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. ASIA-PACIFIC

* China's "dynamic COVID-zero" policy is taking a heavy toll on economic growth, posing significant challenges for companies and causing fatigue and frustration among residents. * Beijing closed some public spaces and stepped up checks at others on Thursday, as most of the city's 22 million residents embarked on more COVID-19 mass testing aimed at averting a Shanghai-like lockdown.

* Shanghai is making more resources available to improve vaccination rates among the elderly as daily case numbers decline and it looks for a way out of four weeks of stringent lockdown restrictions. EUROPE

* Face masks will remain compulsory in Italy on public transport and in some indoor venues until June 15, the health minister said. AMERICAS

* International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has tested positive for COVID-19, the IMF said, following marathon meetings last week with global finance leaders in Washington. * Formula One race directors Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich have both tested positive for COVID-19, raising questions about who will take charge of next week's inaugural Miami Grand Prix, British media reported.

AFRICA * Africa is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 infections, largely driven by a doubling in cases reported in South Africa, the World Health Organization said, urging people across the continent to continue to get vaccinated.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * A shareholder proposal calling on Moderna Inc to study transferring production of COVID-19 vaccines to less-developed countries won 24% support from investors on Thursday after it received a rare endorsement from the World Health Organization.

* Moderna said it asked U.S. regulators to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 6, which would make it the first shot against the coronavirus available for those under 5 years old. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* The employment rate in the European Union climbed back above 2019 levels last year, as the labour market started recovering from the pandemic, Eurostat said. * China's Jilin province, in the northeast, saw its economy shrink by 7.9% in January-March from a year earlier in a rare contraction after being overwhelmed by a wave of COVID-19 cases towards the end of the quarter.

* China's policymakers are struggling to find ways to ward off an economic slowdown that threatens job losses in a politically sensitive year, as COVID-19 lockdowns disrupt supply chains and jolt businesses. * The head of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team said his government would compensate 5.5 million owners of small businesses for losses suffered from COVID-19 curbs.

(Compiled by Dina Kartit, Aditya Soni, Vinay Dwivedi and Uttaresh.V; Edited by Lisa Shumaker and Sriraj Kalluvila)