Three separate laboratories reported promising results Monday in the race to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. Andrew Pollard is heading up a vaccine research group at Oxford.

Andrew Pollard: “So we’ve now seen exactly the sort of immune responses that we hoped to see, but we now need to do the rigorous studies to show that the vaccine is protective against the virus in humans.”

The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 has topped 600,000. Across the globe, countries and regions are reimposing new lockdowns and other preventative measures. France, Hong Kong and parts of Australia have all imposed new orders to wear masks in public spaces as cases grow again.

India recorded at least 40,000 new infections on Monday, its highest single-day total. The pandemic is also worsening in sub-Saharan Africa as the WHO warns of an “acceleration of transmission” in the region. South Africa has topped 5,000 coronavirus deaths, as health experts say the virus is expected to peak in the coming weeks. Nigeria’s foreign minister has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Cuba reported zero new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in 130 days.