Asia has surpassed 10 million infections of the new coronavirus, the second-heaviest regional toll in the world, according to a Reuters tally, as cases continue to mount in India despite a slowdown and sharp declines elsewhere.

Behind only Latin America, Asia accounts for about one-fourth of the global caseload of 42.1m of the virus. With over 163,000 deaths, the region accounts for some 14 per cent of the global Covid-19 toll.

Despite the Asian spikes, the region overall has reported improvement in handling the pandemic in recent weeks, with daily caseloads slowing in places like India — a sharp contrast to the Covid-19 resurgence seen in Europe and North America.

Within the region, South Asia led by India is the worst affected, with nearly 21pc of the reported global coronavirus cases and 12pc of deaths.