COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 20 November

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 56.9 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 1.36 million.

South Australia's six-day lockdown will end early on Saturday. The lockdown was triggered by a man who tested positive and a lied to contact tracers about the circumstances, authorities said today.

California and Ohio have both ordered nightly curfews in an attempt to slow a coronavirus surge, both running from 10pm to 5 am.

The World Health Organization panel has said that remdesivir is not recommended for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, regardless of how ill they are. The panel said there was no evidence it improved survival or reduced the need for ventilation.

The EU must lift coronavirus restrictions slowly and gradually to avoid another wave, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said yesterday.

The G20 must help close a funding gap to buy vaccines, drugs and tests to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a letter from South Africa’s president, Norway’s prime minister and the heads of the World Health Organization and European Commission have said.

Hospitalizations and cases in France have fallen again, but Health Minister Olivier Véran warned that the "the lockdown is not over."

2. India's confirmed cases pass 9 million

After reporting more than 45,882 new infections, India has passed the milestone of 9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. It is the second country in the world to do so, after the US.

Recorded deaths stand at 132,162, behind the US and Brazil.

Officials are warning that the country could see another spike after recent Diwali celebrations.

3. Mexico passes 100,000 deaths

Mexico has also passed a grim milestone, reporting more than 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.

It comes just days after the country crossed 1 million confirmed cases.

“Mexican society had no prior antecedent of an acute, infectious disease that could cause such rapid spread and affect the lives of so many,” Hugo López-Gatell, the public face of the government’s efforts to contain the virus, told reporters.

The government has said the confirmed count is probably only a fraction of the real death total.