Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 22.5 million

More than 22.5 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 786,622 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.

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India reports record number of new infections

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India has recorded another record number of new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours as it ramps up testing to more than 900,000 a day.

The 69,652 new cases reported Thursday push India’s total reported cases past 2.8 million, of which 2 million have recovered.

The Health Ministry says another 977 coronavirus fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours, raising total deaths to 53,866.

People stand in a queue as a healthcare worker checks the temperature of a woman in Mumbai, India. File photo

India has conducted 3 million tests for the virus, but experts have urged increasing its testing capacity greatly, given India has the world’s second-highest population of 1.4 billion people.

It has the third-most reported cases in the world, behind the United States and Brazil, and has the fourth highest number of reported deaths behind the US, Brazil and Mexico.

India’s nationwide lockdown imposed in late March began easing in May and is now largely being enforced in high-risk areas.

Australian lawmakers will for the first time be able to attend Parliament remotely due to new rules introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

People wearing masks walk on a bridge crossing Melbourne's Yarra River.File/AFP

Attorney-General Christian Porter on Thursday announced the new rules ahead of Parliament resuming for two weeks from Monday.

Lawmakers will be able to participate in debates and ask ministers questions by video if they can persuade House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith that they can’t come to Canberra because the pandemic had made it "essentially impossible, unreasonably impracticable, or would give rise to an unreasonable risk” for the lawmaker to attend.

But they will not be able to vote on legislation, second motions or move amendments to legislation.

Doctors do paperwork after treating members of the Warao tribe for symptoms of coronavirus in Manaus, Brazil.  File/AFP

Most states and territories have closed their borders to non-essential interstate travelers to slow the spread of coronavirus which is concentrated in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney.

The mayor of Los Angeles says he authorized shutting off utility services at a home in the Hollywood Hills that has been the site of raucous parties despite a ban on large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that "this house has turned into a nightclub in the hills, hosting large gatherings in flagrant violation of our public health orders.”

The city has not identified the home’s address or the owner.

Garcetti warned earlier that such action would be taken against houses and businesses for hosting parties. He says big parties can be "superspreaders” of the coronavirus.

His warning came days after hundreds attended a party at a mansion without masks or social distancing. That party ended in a shooting that killed a woman and wounded two other people.

Agencies