Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 32.46 million, death toll over 985,000

At least 32,467,949 people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 985,007 people have died, a Reuters tally showed.

India reported 86,052 new coronavirus cases on Friday and was set to overtake the United States by next month as the world's worst-affected nation, while the World Health Organization warned the global death toll could double to 2 million before a successful vaccine is widely used.

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 7,002,288 cases of the highly contagious novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States and its territories while at least 202,911 people have died, according to a Reuters tally of state and local government sources as of September 26, 2020, 11:21 am. The US diagnosed its first COVID-19 case in Washington state on January 20.  

Likewise, India follows the US with a total of 5,903,932 coronavirus cases with 93,379 death, according to Reuters’ interactive graphic tracking the global spread 

Likewise, Brazil has the third-highest 4,657,702 coronavirus cases while 139,808 people have died. 

ASIA-PACIFIC

— China's annual production capacity of vaccines is expected to reach 610 million doses by the end of the year.

— Japan will allow long-term foreign residents and foreign students back into the country from October.

— South Korea said it would impose tighter restrictions during the Chuseok autumn holiday weeks when people traditionally reunite with families.

— Indonesia reported its biggest daily rise in infections for a third successive day.

EUROPE

— Rates of infections and hospital bed occupancy are rising in Europe, where authorities need to work to halt spread ahead of the influenza season, a top WHO official said.

— Denmark extended its restrictions to curb a spike in new infections by two weeks until Oct. 18, while Poland considered reimposing some curbs as it expects high daily numbers to continue..

— Some 51 out of 186 crew members of a European Union naval vessel tested positive for the coronavirus.

— Britain reported 34 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, although the data excluded deaths in Scotland.

— The number of coronavirus cases in France has passed 500,000, authorities said after recording a near-record daily jump in infections.

AMERICAS

— US coronavirus cases topped 7 million, accounting for more than 20% of the world's total.

— Florida lifted all restrictions on businesses, including restaurants and bars, saying the threat of the pandemic had eased sufficiently.

— Canada's two most populous provinces moved to clamp down further on social gatherings.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

— Iran reported its highest single-day coronavirus death toll since August 1, with the total number of identified cases spiking to 439,882.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

— A single dose of Johnson & Johnson's experimental vaccine produced a strong immune response against the novel coronavirus in an early-to-mid stage clinical trial, according to interim results.

— An experimental vaccine developed by China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals appeared to be safe and able to trigger immune responses in animal tests, researchers said.

— China said the WHO had given it its blessing to start administering experimental vaccines to people while clinical trials were still underway, and Brazil decided to join the global vaccine partnership COVAX.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

— Global banking regulators said they stand ready to offer more relief to lenders as a second wave of the pandemic and prolonged remote working test their resilience.

— Stocks were set to fall more than 2% this week and the dollar was on track for its strongest week since April as concern over the economic effect of a second wave of virus-related lockdowns continued to weigh on investors' risk appetite.