Global coronavirus deaths surpass 1 million

The world passed a grim milestone on Tuesday (September 29) of more than 1 million people who have died from the novel coronavirus, since the first reported case in China in January.

More than 33 million people have been infected by COVID-19, across more than 210 countries and territories, according to a Reuters tally.

Deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses have doubled from half a million in just three months, led by fatalities in the United States, Brazil and India.

Those countries account for nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths globally, with the Latin American region alone responsible for more than a third of them.

More than 5,400 people are dying around the world every 24 hours, according to Reuters calculation.

In the time it takes to watch a 90-minute soccer match, 340 people die on average.

India is the latest epicenter of the pandemic globally, and will overtake the U.S as the country with the most cases by the end of the year, based on current trends, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government pushes ahead with easing lockdown measures, in a bid to jumpstart the economy.

And just weeks away from the winter influenza season, the WHO has warned of a worrying spread across Western Europe.

Europe accounts for nearly a quarter of coronavirus-related deaths.

The high number of deaths has also led to changes in burial rites around the world with morgues and funeral homes overwhelmed.

From Bolivia to Indonesia authorities and volunteers have had to work overtime to dig new graves and locate new burial sites.