Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said "all options are on the table" to protect the public, as doctors warned a third wave of infections could soon overwhelm hospitals.

* A total of 30,151,287 people have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, representing around 57% of all adults, the health ministry said.

* Sweden's vaccine coordinator said repeated delays of vaccine deliveries meant Sweden would not be able to meet the target of having all adults vaccinated by June 30.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin said he expected Russia to reach herd immunity to coronavirus and lift pandemic-related restrictions by the end of summer.

* A delivery of 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine from the United States landed in Mexico City, Mexico's foreign ministry said, following an accord U.S. President Joe Biden made with Mexico this month.

* Brazil announced its first two domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates for human trials, which although months away from use, should eventually help tame the pandemic.

* Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund and China's Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-tech have agreed to produce over 60 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 in China, RDIF said.

* Japan's vaccine minister said that the pace of coronavirus inoculation in the country would accelerate in May, but that the Tokyo Olympics were not factoring into the schedule.

* There has been no progress on talks to seal a deal with Germany's BioNTech for its vaccine, though talks are continuing, Taiwanese Health Minister said.

* A panel of South Korean advisers said a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was safe and effective, the food and drug safety ministry said, moving the single-dose shot a step closer to receiving regulatory approval.

* Australian authorities announced a snap three-day COVID-19 lockdown in the northern city of Brisbane from Monday afternoon, as they attempt to stamp out an outbreak of the virulent UK variant of the virus.

* Japan is set to issue digital health certificates to citizens who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, joining China, the European Union and other countries that have adopted similar measures.

* A new factory in Abu Dhabi will start manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm later this year under a joint venture between Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42).

* South Africa plans to administer coronavirus vaccines to up to 200,000 people a day beginning around May.

* China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) will need to assess results from overseas Phase III clinical trials to decide whether its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine should be followed by a booster shot, a company executive said.

* Genetic testing specialist Qiagen received emergency use authorization for a new coronavirus test from the U.S. drugs regulator FDA.

* World shares started the week on cautious ground as uncertainty over the fallout of the default of a U.S. hedge fund tempered relief from the refloating of the ship blocking the Suez Canal.[MKTS/GLOB]