FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

(Updates with fresh developments)

July 9 (Reuters) - Record-breaking coronavirus cases and deaths in several U.S. states are dimming hopes of economic recovery, with cellphone data showing shoppers are staying away from stores in areas where cases are rising the most.

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.

* Eikon users, see MacroVitals (cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098) for a case tracker and a summary of developments.

EUROPE

* Theatres in England will be able to hold outdoor performances from this weekend and beauticians can reopen next week in a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

* Twenty-six Irish pubs face possible prosecution and risk losing their licences over potential COVID-19 public health breaches, Irish police said.

* Hungary is going to review rules on cross-border travel to neighbouring countries where infections are on the rise, the prime minister's chief of staff said.

* Slovakia reported its biggest daily jump in new infections since April 22 in a jolt to a country with one of the fewest number of infections and deaths from COVID-19 in Europe so far.

AMERICAS

* The Trump administration will not cut federal education spending but could allow families to use funds elsewhere if their school does not open amid the pandemic, the U.S. education secretary said.

* The pandemic has made it even harder for senior-care centres in the United States to find or afford standard liability insurance, with rates soaring by as much as 300%, insurance brokers said.

* The booming rooftop solar panel industry nosedived overnight when the coronavirus forced homeowners to cut spending and keep their distance from would-be installers.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia's second-most populous state will relax restrictions on many of the 3,000 people locked down in nine public-housing towers despite surging number of cases.

* Just one person in a South Korean survey of more than 3,000 people showed neutralizing antibodies to the coronavirus, indicating the virus has not spread widely.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* African countries must carry out more testing and make people use masks, a regional disease control body said as cases topped half a million in the continent.

* Nigeria has dropped a plan to allow some pupils to return to school because of a continued increase in the number of infections.

* Morocco extended an emergency decree until Aug. 10 giving local authorities leeway in taking restrictive measures in response to the pandemic.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* 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 new guidelines on the transmission of the coronavirus that acknowledge some reports of airborne transmission of the virus, but stopped short of confirming that the virus spreads through the air.

* Five companies developing coronavirus vaccines will testify before a sub-committee of the U.S. House Of Representatives later this month.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

* Equity markets slid on Thursday after U.S. data raised worries about the economy's recovery and doused enthusiasm that drove a Chinese stock rally for an eighth straight day.

* Global powers should cooperate better on monetary and fiscal policy to tackle the COVID-19 economic crisis, European Union finance ministers and central bankers will tell their G20 counterparts at a meeting next week.

* U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is "very confident" Democrats and Republicans in Congress will agree on strong new coronavirus relief legislation after lawmakers return from their July break.

(Compiled by Aditya Soni and Anna Rzhevkina; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Shounak Dasgupta)