Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:

More than 2.5 million infected

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say at least 2.5 million people have now been infected and more than 170,000 are known to have died worldwide.

The figures, which are based on official releases and media reports, are likely to underestimate the true scale of the pandemic due to suspected underreporting and differing testing regimes around the world.

UK hospital deaths rise by 823

The Department for Health and Social Care published the latest UK hospital death figures. There were 823 new deaths, taking the total to 17,337. Official figures also show Covid-19 fatalities in care homes in England and Wales more than quadrupled in a week, rising to 1,043.

Vaccine trial to begin

The UK’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, said a team from the University of Oxford would begin trialling a vaccine on people from Thursday. He said the government had made £20m available to the team to accelerate their efforts, as well as making £22m available to researchers at Imperial to support their phase-two trials.

Italy records first significant fall in infections

Italy reported 534 new deaths on Tuesday, 80 more than on Monday, bringing the death toll to 24,648. But the number of people currently infected with the virus fell by 528 to 107,709, the first significant fall since the outbreak began.

Italy’s total cases to date, including victims and survivors, rose by 2,727 to 183,957.

New York’s death rate plateaus

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, said 481 people died on Monday. “We have paid a tremendous price to control this beast,” Cuomo said of New York’s death toll, which is higher than that of any other US state.

Staying out of EU ventilator scheme was ‘political decision’

UK government ministers took a political decision not to be involved in an EU ventilator scheme, said Sir Simon McDonald, the Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, challenging previous claims that the UK did not take part due to missed emails.

Hancock later said this was not the case, saying: “We did receive an invitation [at the Department for Health]. It was put up to me, and we joined.” By then the UK had already missed an opportunity to join. The prime minister’s official spokesman has also said the government did not take part because the UK is no longer an EU member.

Brazil’s favelas stage fightback

Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has described coronavirus as a “little flu” and resisted lockdown measures even as the death toll rises. But people in Rio’s poorest favelas are bracing for the worst and taking matters into her own hands. The Guardian reports on their improvised anti-pandemic measures.

UK government’s PPE claims under scrutiny

The leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer, claimed there is an “increasing gap” between government claims on PPE and reality. According to the BBC, he said: “What we’re seeing here is an increasing gap between what the government says or thinks is happening and what the frontline are telling us.”

Ministers have come under increasing pressure over shortages of equipment and deaths among British healthcare workers.

Mexico enters ‘most serious stage’

The country’s deputy health minister, Hugo López-Gatell, said it was entering “phase three” of its outbreak, adding: “We are in the phase of rapid spread where a large number of infections and hospitalisations are accumulated.”

Mexico has so far registered 712 coronavirus deaths and 8,772 infections, with 511 new cases reported on Monday.

Pamplona bull run cancelled

The annual event, where hundreds of daredevils play a risky and controversial game of catch-me-if-you-can with half-tonne fighting bulls, is the latest event to be cancelled.