Coronavirus live updates: Rapid tests to be given to poorer countries, WHO says

Covid-19 cases that appeared to plateau in Bengaluru are on an upward spiral for more than a week now, pitchforking the city to the top of the country’s daily infection chart. In the past nine days, Bengaluru has reported more than 33,000 positive cases, accounting for nearly 45% of the state’s daily caseload.

South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church and a large political rally last month.Of the new cases, 40 were domestic and 10 imported, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The numbers were the lowest since Aug. 11, just before a new cluster of infections emerged from a church whose members attended an anti-government rally in Seoul on Aug. 15, which had boosted the daily tally to more than 440 late last month.

As the world moves toward another morbid threshold in the pandemic, a coronavirus death toll of one million, the countries where fatalities are increasing fastest remain spread out across the globe, with new hot spots constantly emerging. The number of lives lost daily to the virus has been rising through most of August and September, reaching more than 5,000 in an average measured over seven days. As of Sunday morning, the global total stood at 993,600, according to a New York Times database.

Mexico's confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 730,317 on Sunday, according to updated data from the health ministry, along with a total reported death toll of 76,430.Authorities reported 3,886 new cases along with 187 deaths on Sunday, but the true figures are likely significantly higher due to little testing.

The global count of the coronavirus cases has reached 32,925,668, according to the latest situation update from the US-based Johns Hopkins University.​The Covid-19 death toll is nearing to 1 million as the total number of positive cases includes 995,414 virus-related deaths.

Reminding that a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world and several countries are going back to lockdown, Kerala health minister K K Shailaja has warned that if people in the state are not ready to follow the protocol “we will be forced to bring back the restrictions”.

While all the five high burden states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh registered R value of below 1 during September 19 to 22, the number has begun creeping up again in Maharashtra and Karnataka, says Sitabhra Sinha, a researcher at the Institute.

More than 32.85 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 992,470? have died, according to a Reuters tally.Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

India became the second country after the US to register 6 million Covid-19 cases on Sunday, amid signs that the pandemic could finally be slowing down in the country, at least for now. It took 12 days for India’s caseload to go from 5 million to 6 million, a day more than the previous 1-million rise.

Most of the COVID-19 patients in Kerala belong to the age category of 20-40 years, while 72 per cent of those who died of COVID-19 are above 60 years, State Health Minister KK Shailaja said on Sunday.Addressing a press meet here on Sunday, she said: "Most of the COVID-19 positive patients in Kerala belong to the age category of 20-40 years, while 72 per cent of those who died of COVID-19 are above 60 years."