Globally, over 24 million have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with the known death toll topping 820,000.

Burma has expanded a lockdown in Rakhine state after reporting its largest one-day spike in coronavirus cases.

In South Korea, the health minister ordered doctors to return to work or face prison sentences, as they began a three-day nationwide strike to protest a medical workforce reform plan. South Korea recorded 441 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its highest total since March, raising the prospect of new lockdowns.

In Nicaragua, at least 46 educators have died of COVID-19 after the government refused to close schools to slow community spread. President Daniel Ortega has celebrated his administration’s decision to keep schools open throughout the pandemic, while a teachers’ union is demanding a halt to in-person classes.