At least 24,612,789 people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 832,804 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. 

Meanwhile, Japan plans to secure enough coronavirus vaccines to inoculate its population four times over, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Commission was working on signing further contracts to secure vaccines.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

At least 5,885,178 cases of the highly contagious novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States and its territories while at least 180,859 people have died, according to a Reuters tally of state and local government sources as of August 29, 2020, 3:11 am. The US diagnosed its first COVID-19 case in Washington state on January 20.  

Likewise, Brazil follows the US with a total of 3,761,391 coronavirus cases with 118,649 death, according to Reuters’ interactive graphic tracking the global spread.  

Likewise, India has the third-highest 3,387,500 coronavirus cases while 61,529 people have died. 

ASIA-PACIFIC

—  Indonesia reported its biggest rise in new coronavirus cases for a second successive day on Friday, while operations at a second factory in the country's biggest province were scaled down following the emergence of new infection clusters.

—  The South Korean government ramped up efforts to end a strike by thousands of the country's doctors.

—  India reported a record daily jump of 77,266 infections, taking its total to 3.39 million. The country has reported the highest single-day caseload in the world every day since Aug. 7, a Reuters tally showed.

EUROPE

—  Britain's medical regulator will be able to grant temporary authorisation for any coronavirus vaccine that meets safety and quality standards but before it has received a full licence.

—  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the pandemic was likely to worsen in the coming months.

—  Tour de France teams can be excluded if two riders from the same outfit test positive for COVID-19 within a 7-day period during the race, the International Cycling Union said.

—  Hungary will close its borders to foreigners from Sept. 1 and Hungarians returning from abroad will have to go into quarantine, prime minister's cabinet chief said.

—  Britain's government will urge people to return to offices and other workplaces where it is safe to do so to help the economy recover, the transport minister said.

AMERICAS

—  President Donald Trump is willing to sign a $1.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill, a top Trump aide said on Friday, marking a $300 billion increase from an initial $1 trillion offer from the White House and Senate Republicans.

—  Four people at the Republican National Convention in North Carolina this week tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said.

—  A Reuters tally showed cases surpassed seven million in Latin America, the region with the most infections in the world.

—  Reality shows, re-runs and revivals make up most of the television menu this fall as America's top four broadcasters grapple to fill holes in their schedules due to coronavirus-induced production shutdowns.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

—  Gambia extended by 21 days a state of emergency in mainland Africa's smallest nation as infections surged.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

—  Johnson & Johnson's Janssen unit will begin mid-stage trials for its coronavirus vaccine in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany next week, Spain's health minister said.

—  Sinovac Biotech Ltd's vaccine candidate CoronaVac was approved in July for emergency use as part of a programme in China to vaccinate high-risk groups such as medical staff, a person familiar with the matter said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

—  Germany can afford all the measures agreed to help cushion the economic impact of the virus, Chancellor Merkel said, adding it was right that other EU states benefited more from coronavirus aid than Germany.

—  The French president said that 15 billion euros will be made available in France's recovery plan to boost innovation and industrial relocation.

—  More than 100 British lawmakers have joined forces with trade union Unite to urge the government to provide extra state support to airlines and airports.