At least 23,899,034 people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 818,223 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 5,795,701 cases of the highly contagious novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States and its territories while at least 178,513 people have died, according to a Reuters tally of state and local government sources as of August 26, 2020, 7:54 am. The US diagnosed its first COVID-19 case in Washington state on January 20.   Likewise, Brazil follows the US with a total of 3,669,995 coronavirus cases with 116,580 death, according to Reuters’ interactive graphic tracking the global spread.   Likewise, India has the third-highest 3,167,323 coronavirus cases while 58,390 people have died.  The pandemic is still expanding but the rise in cases and deaths has slowed globally, the World Health Organization said, while a Hong Kong man and two European patients were confirmed to have been re-infected with the virus, raising concerns about people's immunity. ASIA-PACIFIC — India recorded more than 60,000 cases of COVID-19 for the eighth day in a row, as total cases crossed 3.2 million. — South Korea ordered doctors in the Seoul area to return to work as they began a three-day strike in protest of several government proposals. EUROPE — France reported 3,304 new infections on Tuesday, well below daily highs seen last week, though greater numbers of young adults are testing positive, many without showing symptoms. — About 3,700 people in Sweden were told in error that they had the coronavirus due to a fault in a testing kit from China, the Public Health Agency said. — The Irish government said there were clear breaches of COVID-19 public health guidelines during European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan's recent trip to his native Ireland. AMERICAS — Young people are driving the spread of the coronavirus in the Americas, the head of the Pan American Health Organization said on Tuesday, noting that both deaths and caseloads have doubled in the region over the past six weeks. — General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said they are close to completing production of ventilators ordered by the Trump administration and are ramping down or exiting the operations. — Nursing homes in the United States will now be required to test staff for COVID-19 and offer testing to residents, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA — Gaza was in lockdown on Tuesday after the first cases of COVID-19 in the general population of the Palestinian enclave, whose restricted borders until now had helped spare it from an outbreak. — Turkey's new infections of COVID-19 jumped on Tuesday to their highest level since mid-June. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS — The University of Cambridge is aiming to start clinical trials of its possible coronavirus vaccine in the autumn after it received 1.9 million pounds ($2.5 million) in funding from the British government. — Australian researchers hope to start human trials of a coronavirus antibody therapy in early 2021, while a large-scale trial of a vaccine could begin by the end of this year. ECONOMIC IMPACT — Asian stocks eased from a two-year high, as a mixed bag of economic data had investors a touch more circumspect about the global recovery, while oil jumped after a hurricane disrupted output in the Gulf of Mexico. — US bank profits were down 70% from a year earlier in the second quarter of 2020, a regulator reported. — Moody's downgraded Chile's outlook to negative due to economic hits from the pandemic and social pressures, but the ratings agency maintained its A1 rating.