Global caseload hits 35.22m

The confirmed Covid-19 cases now reached 35.22 million globally as of Sunday morning, according to the latest tally of www.worldometers.info.

Besides, the fatalities from the coronavirus were recorded 1,039,284 in the morning, according to the latest data, report agencies.

The United States has the highest death toll with 209,335 fatalities followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain.

Besides, the number of coronavirus infections in the United States has reached 7, 379,614.

With the second highest caseload of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) globally, India has recorded 6,473,544 cases with 100,842 fatalities.

Brazil is the third worst-hit country with 4,880,523 confirmed cases and 145,388 deaths.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday he expected the next few months of the COVID-19 pandemic to be bumpy, but that things would look radically different in the spring.

Britain, which has suffered Europe's worst death toll from the virus, gradually came out of a national lockdown over the summer, but many areas including major cities such as Manchester and Glasgow are currently subject to local restrictions.

Johnson said he knew many people were furious with him over perceived inconsistencies and confusion surrounding the local measures, but he was seeking to strike a balance between public health and the wider needs of society and the economy.

"In these areas, and I appreciate the fatigue that people are experiencing, but we have to work together, follow the guidance and get the virus down whilst keeping the economy moving, that's the balance we're trying to find," he said in an interview on BBC television.

"I know people are furious at me and they're furious at the government, but I've got to tell you, in all candour, it's going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond, but this is the only way to do it."

Johnson had to correct himself on social media on Tuesday after getting his facts wrong while answering a question about social distancing rules that apply to a large swathe of England.

Meanwhile report from Vienna adds: India and South Africa want the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import COVID-19 drugs.

In their letter dated Oct. 2 the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally.

"As new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, there are significant concerns (over) how these will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at (an) affordable price to meet global demand," the letter posted on the Geneva-based WTO's website says.

The two countries said that developing nations are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and that intellectual property rights, including patents, could be a barrier to the provision of affordable medicine.

Another report adds from New Delhi: India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday, as infections in the world's second-worst affected country continue to surge.