FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Tapestry forecast full-year earnings below estimates after reporting lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, as lockdowns in China hurt sales of its designer handbags and apparel in the country. (Compiled by Carlo Giovanni Boffa and Subhranshu Sahu Editing by Matthew Lewis)

The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended the use of French drugmaker Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 AMERICAS

* Brazil's federal police on Wednesday accused President Jair Bolsonaro of discouraging mask use during the pandemic and falsely suggesting that people who got vaccinated against COVID-19 ran the risk of contracting AIDS. * The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday it will prioritize its public health response in a revamp of its structure after months of criticism over its handling of the COVID-19 and monkeypox pandemics.

EUROPE * The Bank of England set out plans to auction off around 200 million pounds ($241 million) of corporate bonds a week starting next month, as it moves ahead with plans to unwind its huge stimulus push of recent years.

* The Swiss government is expected to run a budget deficit of 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.25 billion) for 2022, it said on Wednesday, citing extraordinary costs from tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting new arrivals from Ukraine. * European soccer revenues grew by 10% in the 2020-21 season despite most an almost total lack of fans in stadiums, according to a report published on Thursday.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Mainland China reported 3,570 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 17, of which 682 were symptomatic and 2,888 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

* Shanghai reported four new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Aug. 17, the same as a day earlier, while no local symptomatic cases were reported, the same as a day before, the city government said on Thursday. * China's July air passenger traffic rebounded to 57.3% of the 2019 level, the country's aviation regulator said, as the airline industry slowly recovers from widespread COVID-19 lockdowns that paralysed travel demand.

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST * The operator of Dubai International Airport said on Wednesday the Middle East hub could see monthly passenger traffic return to pre-pandemic levels in the latter half of next year.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Novavax's Nuvaxovid vaccine was granted expanded provisional approval in New Zealand for adolescents aged 12 through 17.

* Arcturus Therapeutics said new clinical data on its ARCT-154 vaccine shows high, sustained geometric mean fold rises in neutralizing antibodies against all evaluated Omicron variants. * Cue Health Inc said on Wednesday an independent study showed its molecular COVID-19 test is as accurate as a lab-based RT-PCR test.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * China and Hong Kong stocks closed lower, hit by increasingly grim growth prospects for the world's second-largest economy, which was dented by COVID-19 outbreaks, a property crisis, a record heat wave and limited room for monetary easing.

* Estee Lauder Cos Inc forecast full-year sales and profit below estimates, due to a hit from COVID-19-related lockdowns in major market China. * Tapestry forecast full-year earnings below estimates after reporting lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, as lockdowns in China hurt sales of its designer handbags and apparel in the country.

(Compiled by Carlo Giovanni Boffa and Subhranshu Sahu Editing by Matthew Lewis)