COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 12 April

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 136 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.93 million. More than 773.55 million vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Japan has begun vaccinations for over 65s at 120 sites across the country.

England’s shops, hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens will reopen today. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described it as a 'major step' towards freedom.

The Dutch government has announced that a night-time curfew and other restrictions will remain in place until at least 28 April, as daily infections rose to a two-week high.

Canada is shifting its vaccination programme to target frontline workers, moving away from a largely age-based rollout.

Iran has reported 258 daily COVID-19 deaths, its highest daily total since December, the health ministry said yesterday.

Strict restrictions in Manilla and four adjacent provinces will be eased from 12 April, a spokesperson for Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday.

Peru recorded a record number of new COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the second such record in a week.

2. India overtakes Brazil as second worst-hit country

India has reported a record 168,912 new COVID-19 infections, data from the health ministry showed today.

It means India has overtaken Brazil to become the world's second worst-hit country, in terms of cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. India has reported 13.52 million confirmed cases to Brazil's 13.48 million.

The United States has reported more confirmed cases than any country, with 31.19 million, according to Johns Hopkins.

3. 'Shocking imbalance' remains in global vaccine distribution: WHO

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has again called for a more equitable rollout of vaccines.

"There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines," he told a press conference on Friday.

"More than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 87% have gone to high-income or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2%," he said.

"On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people has received a vaccine. In low-income countries, it’s one in more than 500. Let me repeat that: one in four versus one in 500."