Health

More than 3.11 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 216,667 have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Wednesday.

A further 445 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in English hospitals, bringing the total there to 19,746, the health service said.

India has recorded its 1,000th novel coronavirus death, but the head of a government think-tank said on Wednesday that its 1.3 billion people, strained from weeks of lockdown, were not experiencing the feared exponential surge in infections.

British opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer will question Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his strategy to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, including on testing and support for social care, in a phone call later on Wednesday.

The coronavirus pandemic is a long way from over, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday, announcing measures, including ramped-up purchases of flu vaccines, to help ready the healthcare system for a long-term challenge.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sweden rose past the 20,000 mark on Wednesday as the Nordic country reported 107 new deaths to put the tally at 2,462 since the outbreak began.

The Netherlands' number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen by 386 to 38,802 health authorities said on Wednesday, with 145 new deaths.

Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday bans on international travel and large gatherings would stay in place even as the government eases lockdowns and moves towards a "COVID-safe" economy and society.

A 30-year-old woman serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-affiliated business died of COVID-19 on Tuesday several weeks after giving birth to her child while she was on a ventilator, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said.

The United States has reported more than a million coronavirus infections only because of its testing, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, hailing the effort as being "much better than any other country in the world".

Indonesia confirmed 260 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 9,771, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.

Almost all areas of Spain have a ratio of contagion per patient, dubbed the 'R' number, below 1, head of health emergencies Fernando Simon said on Wednesday.

Australia plans to expand screening for the coronavirus after securing 10 million more test kits on Wednesday, a measure officials said is key to sustaining low transmission rates and allowing restrictions on social movement to be eased.

At least five of Mexico City's largest private hospitals have filled up with coronavirus patients and have no room for new ones, doctors and hospital workers said on Tuesday, though more than 100 other medical centers have available beds.

Thailand reported on Wednesday nine new coronavirus infections but no deaths, taking to 2,947 cases and 54 deaths its tally since the outbreak began in January.

Germany on Wednesday reported 1,304 more cases of the novel coronavirus while the number of deaths rose by 202 compared to the previous day, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that new hospitalizations for the novel coronavirus dropped to a one-month low and laid out a plan to employ thousands of case investigators under criteria for reopening his state.

When law enforcement agencies want to gather evidence locked inside an iPhone, they often turn to hacking software from the Israeli firm Cellebrite. By manually plugging the software into a suspect’s phone, police can break in and determine where the person has gone and whom he or she has met.

Mainland China reported 22 new coronavirus cases for April 28, up from 6 reported a day earlier, putting its total number of COVID-19 infections to date at 82,858.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 981,246 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 23,371 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,336 to 55,258.