Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the new coronavirus
(Reuters) - More than 3.52 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 246,910 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Monday.
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
* Italy and Spain were among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly.
* The EU warned that decisions by some European countries to suspend vaccination of children during the epidemic could cause serious problems.
* The head of the EU agency for disease control said Britain was one of five European countries yet to reach the peak, contradicting the British government's line.
* Britain said that China has questions to answer over the information it shared about the outbreak, but refused to comment on reports that a U.S.-led intelligence consortium had accused Beijing of a cover-up.
* Germany's coronavirus reproduction rate is currently estimated at 0.74 on average, its health minister said.
* That of Poland is falling and authorities expect it to reach 1 in the coming days, the health ministry said on Monday.
* The number of cases in Russia has risen by 10,581 over the past 24 hours compared with a record of 10,633 the previous day.
AMERICAS
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said bipartisan discussions have begun on whether more federal government relief funding is needed, but that President Donald Trump is focused on tax changes and the travel industry.
* For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case not in person but by teleconference.
* Families in a poor satellite city of Mexico's capital have protested to demand news of sick relatives and return of bodies after videos surfaced showing cadavers at a local hospital.
* Brazil's President Bolsonaro, who has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum for dismissing the threat of the virus, attacked Congress and the courts in a speech to hundreds of supporters on Sunday as the number of cases blew past 100,000.
* An inmate uprising at a Brazilian prison stoked by outbreak fears saw seven prison guards briefly taken hostage in Manaus, where public services have been overwhelmed.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Indian police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesting migrant workers in Gujarat and launched baton charges against hundreds of people queuing at liquor stores in New Delhi, even as the first steps were being taken to relax a coronavirus lockdown.
* Bangladesh reported more than 10,000 cases on Monday.
* Thousands of Malaysians joined the morning rush hour on Monday as the government eased curbs on movement and businesses for the first time in six weeks.
* In Indonesia, volunteers clad as superheroes distributed masks and hand sanitizer while demonstrating how to correctly wash hands and maintain security.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The death toll in Iran, one of the hardest hit countries in the Middle East, rose to 6,277 on Monday, as mosques were due to reopen in many cities.
* In Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, rising food prices point to what the United Nations and government officials have condemned as unscrupulous profiteering in times of crisis.
* Omani authorities sealed off a third district where many low-income migrant workers live and work as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus.
* Zimbabwe is headed for a health and economic catastrophe from the pandemic because its debt arrears mean it cannot access foreign lenders, the finance minister warned in a letter to the IMF.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* Global stock markets fell on Monday on concerns U.S.-Chinese bickering over the origin of the coronavirus outbreak will ignite a new trade war, speculation that strengthened the dollar and drove gold prices higher. [MKTS/GLOB]
* World leaders launched a pledging "marathon" on Monday - without the United States - to raise at least $8.2 billion for research into a possible vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus. Spain, Germany, France, Norway and Saudi Arabia have pledged contributions.
* Hong Kong's economy recorded in the first quarter its deepest annual contraction since at least 1974, as the pandemic dealt a heavy blow to business activity, already in decline following months of anti-government protests last year.
* South Africa's economy could contract by as much 12% and unemployment balloon to more than a third of the workforce, the director-general of the National Treasury said.
* Delays in offering full state guarantees on COVID-19 relief lending hampered banks' ability to provide fast financial aid to companies in the first phase of the pandemic, senior British bankers told lawmakers.
* Brazil's retailers are starting to reopen but may leave lockdown transformed with the e-commerce sector strengthened and brick-and-mortar chains facing an uphill path to normality.
* Malaysia cancelled its biggest palm oil conference for the first time in 31 years.
(Compiled by Sarah Morland; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
