The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

More than 22.85 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 793,983 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.

AstraZeneca has received regulatory approval to conduct part of a Phase III trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, in Russia, a filing in the Russian registry of clinical trials showed on Friday.

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The trial will involve 150 participants and will be handled by four medical facilities in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the registry filing, dated Friday, showed.

Oregon public health experts say the number of new coronavirus cases in the state has dropped over the past month, but the decline hasn’t been enough for schools to safely open.

The state is averaging about 250 new cases a day, and health officials say that needs to drop to about 60 for schools to reopen.

A doctor observes through a glass window the condition of the patient in a ward in Moscow, Russia. AP

Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that residents will have to continue to follow and enforce current statewide pandemic mandates or else bars and restaurants may have to close and travel restrictions will be implemented.

Brown says at the current rate, schools won’t be able to reopen until April.

Connecticut is doubling the amount of federal coronavirus money dedicated to rental assistance.

But housing advocates contend it falls far short of what is needed to help as many as 130,000 households estimated to face possible eviction between now and Dec. 31 because of the pandemic. In comparison, there were about 20,000 eviction filings in all of 2019.

Police conduct roadside checks on the outskirts of Melbourne. File/AFP

Australia's second most populous state, Victoria, reported 13 new coronavirus deaths in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, authorities said, while new infections in the hotspot state remained below 200 for the second consecutive day.

Other than in Victoria, which accounts for over 80% of the country's COVID-19 deaths due to a second wave of infections, Australia has large avoided the high casualty numbers of many nations with about 24,500 infections and 485 deaths.

Police officers stand next to demonstrators during a protest against the restrictions in Berlin. Reuters

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday that $10 million will be added to the original $10 million for the rent program. His office says the amount that can go to the rent program is limited by Congress.

Lamont said he also will soon sign an executive order extending the moratorium on residential evictions until Oct. 1.

 Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is asking Canada for help with U.S. residents of a small peninsula who have been marooned by the pandemic-related closure of the US-Canada border.

A passenger has their temperature taken before riding on the London Eye wheel in London. Toby Melville/Reuters

In a letter Friday to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Inslee suggests that residents of Point Roberts be given special travel permits allowing them to drive directly to and from the Washington state mainland.

The governing body for Pennsylvania interscholastic sports decided Friday to move forward with the fall season, rejecting the governor’s recommendation that all youth sports be postponed until 2021 to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The board of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association had delayed the start of fall sports by two weeks after Gov. Tom Wolf on Aug. 6 urged that scholastic and recreational youth sports be put off until January, citing the pandemic.

Agencies