4,06,29,815 Covid 19 cases world wide, 11,22,734 global deaths so far

NEW YORK: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 40,462,338. While 30,232,844 have recovered, 1,120,715 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 8,393,773 cases. It is followed by India, which has 7,590,514 cases, Brazil (5,237,961) and Russia (1,415,316).

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned against any relaxation of response actions following the slight decline in Covid-19 cases in the Southeast Asia Region lately, saying the pandemic continues unabated and our response only needs to be strengthened further to curtail virus transmission.

US President Donald Trump has ordered defence and health chiefs to ensure that America is the first one to procure the UK's coronavirus vaccine, being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

India on Monday witnessed a significant drop in the number of new Covid-19 cases. At 46,498, the country registered fewer daily infections than the US -- for the first time in over a month -- taking its tally to 7,594,736, according to Worldometer. India's death toll currently stands at 115,163. While Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country with over 1.6 mn caseloads, West Bengal has been adding over 3,000 cases daily for the past 45 days. The overall case tally in the state stands at 325,028.