COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 29 March

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 127.1 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.78 million. More than 541 million vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Mexico's death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is likely at least 60% higher than the previously confirmed estimate, putting it in excess of 300,000, according to government data.

As of Friday, 177 countries and economies had begun their vaccination programmes, meaning 36 have yet to start. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for all countries to begin vaccinations within the first 100 days of 2021.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pressed states to step-up efforts to curb rapidly rising infections. “We have our emergency brake... unfortunately, it is not respected everywhere. I hope that there might be some reflection on this,” Merkel said.

Japan's vaccine minister said the country's pace of inoculation would accelerate in May. “Starting in May, there will be no bottleneck in supply,” Taro Kono told Reuters in an interview.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons to be cautious as a stay-at-home order and some other lockdown measures are lifted in England.

The number of COVID-19 patients in France's intensive care units has risen to a new high for the year, health ministry data showed Sunday.

A snap three-day lockdown has been announced in the Australian city of Brisbane after a cluster of cases linked to the UK variant of COVID-19 rose to seven.

2. India's confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 12 million

India has reported its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases since October, taking the country's total number of confirmed cases past 12 million. 68,020 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said Monday.

The country's worst affected state, Maharashtra, is considering imposing a strict lockdown, having already tightened travel restrictions and imposed a night curfew.

India's total caseload is the world's second highest, behind the United States.

3. 5,000 attend Barcelona rock concert

5,000 people were able to attend a music concert in Barcelona after pre-concert testing for COVID-19. Once inside, social distancing was not required, although attendees did wear masks.

Pre-concert testing at three Barcelona locations was carried out by 80 nurses wearing full personal protective equipment. Anyone receiving a positive test was unable to attend, but received a refund.

The government-approved concert will serve as a test case for restarting similar events.