Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 16.32 million, death toll over 648,000

At least 16,323,133 people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 648,265 people have died, a Reuters tally showed.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

The World Health Organization referred to the outbreak as a pandemic on March 11.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

At least 4,249,296 cases of the highly contagious novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States and its territories while at least 146,766 people have died, according to a Reuters tally of state and local government sources as of July 27, 2020, 1:28 PM. The US diagnosed its first COVID-19 case in Washington state on January 20.

Likewise, Brazil follows the US with a total of 2,419,091 coronavirus cases with 87,004 death, according to Reuters’ interactive graphic tracking the global spread.

Likewise, India has the third-highest 1,435,453 coronavirus cases while 32,771 people have died.

Meanwhile, top aides to US President Donald Trump said they agreed with Senate Republicans on a $1 trillion coronavirus relief package — the party's opening offer in negotiations with Democrats less than a week before enhanced unemployment benefits expire.

ASIA-PACIFIC

— Australia's Victoria state on Monday reported the country's highest daily increase in coronavirus infections, prompting the authorities to warn a six-week lockdown may last longer if people continue to go to work while feeling unwell.

— India needs to be "extra vigilant" as the novel coronavirus threat persists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a public address on Sunday, even as the country registered a record number of patient recoveries in a day.

— Vietnam reintroduced social distancing measures in the central city of Danang after the country reported four locally transmitted coronavirus cases over the past two days.

— Taiwan resumed an island-hopping ocean cruise on Sunday, joining a handful of places in the world to restart voyages after the pandemic brought the industry to a virtual standstill.

EUROPE

— Spain is safe for tourists and Spaniards, the government insisted on Sunday after Britain abruptly imposed a two-week quarantine on travellers returning from there, a decision that filled holidaymakers with dismay.

— Spain's COVID-19 death toll could be nearly 60% higher than the official figure of 28,432, according to an investigation by El Pais newspaper published on Sunday.

AMERICAS

— The health minister of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Dr. Jesus Grajeda, has died, Chihuahua's governor said, nearly two weeks after Grajeda was hospitalized with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

— Coronavirus cases in Latin America for the first time have surpassed the combined infections in the United States and Canada, a Reuters tally showed on Sunday, amid a surge of infections in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Argentina.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

— Morocco will stop people entering and leaving some of its biggest cities from midnight to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, the interior and health ministries said on Sunday.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

— Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has received an additional $472 million from the US government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to support development of its coronavirus vaccine.

ECONOMIC FALLOUT

— A pick-up in leisure trips and easing European travel restrictions are driving demand for business jet flights this summer, fueling cautious hopes for a rebound in an industry hit hard by the pandemic, executives and forecasters said.

— South Africa has doubled to six months the term of loans to small and medium-sized businesses to help them survive the COVID-19 recession and made other changes to make the credit easier to access, the treasury said on Sunday.