Health News Roundup: Latin America passes 250,000 death toll; What you need to know about the coronavirus right now and more

South Korea urges more testing, quarantines as coronavirus outbreak threatens to spread South Korean health authorities warned on Friday that a cluster of coronavirus infections in the capital Seoul was threatening to spread after thousands of people attended a rally by conservative political groups last week.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

South Korea urges more testing, quarantines as coronavirus outbreak threatens to spread

South Korean health authorities warned on Friday that a cluster of coronavirus infections in the capital Seoul was threatening to spread after thousands of people attended a rally by conservative political groups last week. While many of the current spike in cases have been among members of a church, some of whom attended the rally, officials say more people need to come forward and be tested to head off an uncontrollable outbreak.

NZ PM Ardern defers lockdown decision but says good progress made

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday deferred a decision on whether to ease a lockdown on the city of Auckland as 11 new coronavirus infections were reported, including nine cases of community transmission. New Zealand's biggest city was placed in lockdown earlier this month until Aug. 26 amid a spike in new cases, forcing businesses to close and schools to shut.

India coronavirus cases surge to 2.9 million

India hurtled toward the 3 million mark for coronavirus cases on Friday, reporting 68,898 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed. The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2.9 million.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Concerns grow that kids spread virus Bayer to pay $1.6 billion to resolve U.S. claims for Essure birth-control device

German drugs and pesticides group Bayer said on Thursday it will pay around $1.6 billion to settle the majority of U.S. claims involving its Essure birth-control device. The agreement follows a $10.9 billion settlement in June of U.S. lawsuits claiming the company's weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.

Latin America passes 250,000 death toll from COVID-19

The number of reported COVID-19 deaths in Latin America passed 250,000 on Thursday, as the virus afflicts the region that has become the worst hit in the world. The grim milestone was passed as Brazil reported 1,204 deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry.

Peru, Morocco to test China Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 3 trial

Authorities in Peru and Morocco have approved Phase 3 clinical trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG), the company said late on Thursday on Chinese social media platform WeChat. Phase 3 trials, which usually involve several thousand participants, allow researchers to gather data on the efficacy of potential vaccines for final regulatory approvals.

Mexico to get at least 2,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik vaccine to test

Mexico will receive at least 2,000 doses of Russia's potential COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed 'Sputnik V', to test among its population, a senior Mexican government official said on Thursday. "Mexico was offered at least 2,000 doses of the vaccine to do its protocol to start testing it in Mexico, which is very good news because again we buy ourselves time," said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

'Strategy is working': Virus cases dive in Australia's hotspot state

Australia's virus hot spot state of Victoria recorded its lowest number of new infections in five weeks on Friday, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's national cabinet met to consider how and when to open state borders. Victoria logged 179 new cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 240 a day earlier and down from over 700 per day two weeks ago, after authorities introduced a nightly curfew and shut large swathes of the state's economy. The state reported nine deaths.

Exclusive: Top FDA official says would resign if agency rubber-stamps an unproven COVID-19 vaccine

A top U.S. health regulator who will help decide the fate of a coronavirus vaccine has vowed to resign if the Trump administration approves a vaccine before it is shown to be safe and effective, Reuters has learned. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, made the statement in response to concerns raised on a conference call late last week of government officials, pharmaceutical executives, and academics who serve on a vaccine working group organized by the National Institutes of Health, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

(With inputs from agencies.)