People wait in line at a COVID-19 walk-up test site in Washington, DC on November 23, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 1,395,045 with the global confirmed cases reaching 59,106,877 as of 9:30 am BJT on Tuesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Current status (data as of 9:30 am BJT, Nov 24):

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is to pay a two-day visit to Japan on Tuesday, his first since Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office. Chinese experts predict that the two sides might discuss establishing a mutual recognition system for health certificates to enable resumption of bilateral business travel.

The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in collaboration with the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca could be up to 90% effective, according to data from late-stage trials.

Health workers providing direct care for COVID-19 patients and other vulnerable residents will be the first to receive vaccines, US Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday.

Argentina's ministries of defense and health are preparing for a large-scale vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), by planning the vaccines' cold-storage delivery and distribution, Defense Minister Agustin Rossi said Monday.

Iran's COVID-19 cases rose to 866,821 on Monday with an addition of 12,460 new infections. Meanwhile, the total deaths from the coronavirus in Iraq approached 12,000.