Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus
(Reuters) - India reported a record 26,506 new coronavirus cases on Friday as authorities re-imposed lockdowns in its most populous state and in an industrial hub, home to automakers, drug factories and brewers.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
* For a U.S.-focused tracker with state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.
EUROPE
* The estimated reproduction number for COVID-19 for England edged up to between 0.8 and 1, the government said on Friday, from 0.8 to 0.9 the week before.
* Russia moved to defend its Avifavir anti-viral drug on Friday following an inconclusive clinical trial in Japan that tested it against COVID-19 and as the country's total death toll from the disease surpassed 11,000.
* Italy is likely to extend a state of emergency for the pandemic beyond its current end date of July 31, the prime minister said.
AMERICAS
* Bolivian President Jeanine Anez and Venezuelan Socialist Party leader Diosdado Cabello have tested positive for COVID-19.
* China's customs authority said it was suspending imports from three shrimp producers in Ecuador after detecting the novel coronavirus in shipments.
* The Trump administration will not cut federal education spending, but could allow families to use funds elsewhere if their school does not open because of the pandemic, the U.S. education secretary said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Voting in Singapore's election was extended on Friday, after coronavirus infection control measures led to long queues and delays at polling stations.
* Authorities will conduct coronavirus testing in Tokyo's nightlife districts, where infections have surged again, and are urging nightclub hosts and hostesses to follow advice on safely interacting with customers, officials said.
* Australia will halve the number of citizens allowed to return home from overseas each week, the prime minister said.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The premier of Gauteng, South Africa's most populous province, said he had tested positive for the coronavirus, as new confirmed infections in the country hit a record daily high.
* Morocco extended an emergency decree until Aug. 10 giving local authorities leeway in taking restrictive measures in response to the pandemic.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* As scientists question whether the presence, or absence, of antibodies to the new coronavirus can reliably determine immunity, some are looking to a different component of the immune system, known as T cells, for their role in protecting people in the pandemic.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was setting up an independent panel to review its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response by governments.
* The WHO also released guidelines on the transmission of the coronavirus that acknowledge some reports of airborne transmission, but stopped short of confirming that the virus spreads through the air.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* World stocks were choppy and oil prices faltered on Friday as record numbers of cases in several U.S. states raised concerns that more lockdowns may be necessary, making a quick economic recovery unlikely.
* Wall Street's main indexes were set to open lower on Friday on fears that a record increase in coronavirus cases could further delay the easing of restrictions, while taking a toll on Corporate America.
* Canada added 952,900 jobs in June on record service sector gains as more restaurants, stores and businesses reopened from COVID-19 closures, while the jobless rate was slightly worse-than-expected at 12.3%, data showed.
(Compiled by Anna Rzhevkina, Anita Kobylinska, Devika Syamnath and Aditya Soni; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Kevin Liffey and Barbara Lewis)
