Death toll in India surpasses 50,000

The number of people who have died from Covid-19 in India topped 50,000 on Monday, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

The latest figures released by the ministry show the number of deaths rose by 941 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 50,921.

Only the United States, Brazil and Mexico have identified more Covid-19-related fatalities, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Since the pandemic began, India has recorded at least 2.6 million cases. Of those, 676,900 are considered active. About 1.9 million people have recovered.

In India, not all patients require a test to be considered recovered. Patients with mild and moderate symptoms are considered no longer active after 10 days of symptom onset if they meet certain conditions, and a test to confirm that they no longer have the virus is not required. However, severe cases can only be discharged after one negative coronavirus test.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on August 17. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

New Zealand has postponed its general election for four weeks over coronavirus concerns -- despite only having 58 active cases in the community.

The country of 5 million people -- which has been praised for its handling of the virus -- went 102 days without any locally-transmitted cases, only to see a fresh outbreak last week.

The election had been scheduled for September 19, but on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she was delaying it until October 17. This year, New Zealand will also be holding two referendums alongside its election: on legalizing euthanasia, and on legalizing cannabis for recreational use. 

Several developed countries have gone ahead with their elections during the pandemic, including South Korea, which even saw its highest turn out in almost 30 years during its parliamentary election in April.

Why has the election been delayed? Ardern said she wanted to postpone voting to give the Electoral Commission time to prepare -- and give parties time to campaign.

New Zealand’s most populous city, Auckland, is currently under lockdown, meaning any candidates based there would be unable to campaign as usual.

Most people within New Zealand must vote at specific locations, although they can apply to vote by mail. Voting opens two weeks before Election Day, so not everyone needs to vote on the same day.

Ardern said Monday that she wouldn't change the election date again.

Will this help Ardern’s chance? According to polling, Ardern's Labour Party is on track to win the election -- and is well ahead of the main opposition National Party.

The delay will give her opponents more time to attempt to win support. But, if the polls are anything to go by, they have a lot of ground to make up.

Has there been any pushback? Not really. Other parties pushed for the election to be delayed, and following Ardern's announcement, several parties welcomed the decision.

Authorities in South Korea are pursuing legal action against the pastor of the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul after 315 people connected to the parish tested positive for Covid-19.

A criminal complaint was filed Sunday against the church's leader, Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, accusing him of holding gatherings in violation of the city's infectious disease prevention law.

Of 4,066 people who authorities have identified that visited the church recently, 1,045 could not be contacted -- 550 did not have listed addresses and 495 did not pick up their phones, the city government said. Of those that have been traced, 1,207 have been tested for the virus. The rest are awaiting testing.

Authorities in Seoul said that all 7,560 churches in the South Korean capital are barred from holding any gatherings due to the pandemic except for the usual weekly services, during which worshippers must abide by social distancing regulations.

Church's denial: At a news conference Monday, Sarang Jeil Church's legal team denied the allegations of wrongdoing levied against the church and Rev. Jun. The church's representatives claimed that they had fully cooperated with the authorities and said they would be suing the government for defamation.

The government of the Australian state of New South Wales apologized on Monday for allowing thousands of passengers to disembark from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in March, despite Covid-19 fears.

The Ruby Princess was given permission in March to dock and offload its passengers in Sydney despite widespread concerns over the spread of coronavirus after some passengers displayed flu-like symptoms.

On Monday, the government said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure the errors are not repeated.

A special commission of inquiry found that 663 passengers from the ship subsequently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while 28 Covid-19 deaths were associated with its passengers.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian also apologized, saying: “I recognize the hurt and suffering these mistakes caused, and I apologize for that.”

Japan reported its worst GDP on record as the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak dented consumption.

The world's third-largest economy shrank 7.8% in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter, the country's Cabinet Office said on Monday. That translated to an annual rate of decline of 27.8%, the worst since modern records started in 1980 and the third consecutive quarter of contraction.

Consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, slumped 8.2% for the quarter as businesses across the country shuttered during a six-week national emergency in April and May.

External demand shaved three percentage points off GDP on the quarter as global trade dried up.

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China's National Health Commission reported that 22 new Covid-19 cases were identified throughout the country Sunday.

Another 37 asymptomatic cases were also recorded. China counts these cases separately.

A total of 84,849 cases of the novel coronavirus have been identified throughout China since the pandemic began.

The world may be in the midst of a global pandemic, but visitors to a new Beijing exhibition could be forgiven for thinking the battle has already been won.

A triumphant art show celebrating the "great spirit of the Chinese people" in fighting Covid-19 opened this month at the country's National Museum, near Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing.

Through a collection of almost 180 artworks, including sculptures, watercolors and dramatic oil paintings of heroic doctors, the exhibition aims to document the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and its aftermath.

But given that the country heavily censors art, the contents of the museum's exhibition mirrors the official stance on China's containment of Covid-19.

Through images of aid workers, the exhibition's messaging also appears closely aligned with government narratives around the country's international response to the crisis -- or "demonstrat(ing) China's responsibility as a major country in dealing with ... a major public health emergency," as the foreword at the show's entrance proclaims, despite criticism of officials' early attempts to suppress news of the virus ahead of the busy Lunar New Year holiday in January.

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Gen. Robert Abrams speaks during an event in Panmunjom, South Korea, on July 27. Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool/Getty Images

United States Forces Korea (USFK) has raised its health protection level following an uptick in the number of Covid-19 infections in South Korea.

USFK raised the protection level to level "Charlie" at 5 a.m. Korean time, which indicates the presence of sustained community transmission of Covid-19 across South Korea, according to a notice posted by the US Department of Defense.

South Korea has boasted one of the world's most successful responses to Covid-19. In a country of more than 50 million people, only 15,318 cases of Covid-19 and 305 virus-related deaths have been reported.

However, there has been a significant rise in cases throughout the country in recent days.

More than 600 new cases were reported across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as daily infection numbers crossed the triple digit threshold for the first time since March.

As part of USFK's new measures, only essential individuals will be required to report for duty, while others will work remotely, USFK said in a statement.

Travel outside the military installations will only be authorized for official and necessary duties, it added. All individuals are also required wear a mask outside the installations.

Mexico recorded 4,448 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of cases identified in the country to 522,162.

The Health Ministry also added 214 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 56,757. Mexico has reported the third-highest number of deaths in the world from coronavirus, following only the United States and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Only Brazil and Peru have recorded more Covid-19 cases than Mexico in Latin America, according to JHU's tally.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here: