France became the first European country on Tuesday to record more than 2 million COVID-19 infections. With 2,036,755 cases confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic, France has the fourth-highest tally in the world after the US (11.2 million), India (8.8 million) and Brazil (5.8 million). More than 56.07 million (56,074,438) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,346,172 have died, according to a worldometer tally. It also reported that 39,083,495 people have recovered. France passed the one million cases mark on Oct. 23 but officials have stressed that the second wave of the pandemic unfurling over the country has been "brutal". Health Minister Olivier Véran has, however, been emphasizing this week that "the efforts of the French are paying off" — the country has been under a second four-week national lockdown since Oct. 30. He also said the country has "passed an epidemic peak". Hospitals remain stretched however with more than 33,100 COVID-19 patients currently being treated, including more than 4,830 in intensive care. The death toll has meanwhile increased by 437 to 46,273 — the third-highest in Europe behind Italy's 46,464 and the UK's 52,745. Britain, which is also under a second national lockdown, recorded its highest increase in daily COVID-19 fatalities since May 6 on Tuesday with 598 deaths. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 11 million on Sunday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. By far, the United States remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's most cases and deaths, making up more than 20 percent of the global caseload. US COVID-19 cases hit 10 million on Nov. 9, and increased by 1 million within a week. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington predicted a total of 438,941 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by March 1. In Moscow, Russia reported a record high of 456 deaths related to the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the official death toll to 34,387. Authorities also reported 20,985 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, including 4,174 in the capital Moscow, bringing the national tally to 1,991,998. In Berlin, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 17,561 to 833,307, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 305 to 13,119, the tally showed. In Vienna, the number of coronavirus infections in Austria reached 221,631 after 6,873 new cases were logged over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The nation's death toll from the outbreak currently stands at 1,945, while more than 136,000 people have recovered fro the virus. In New Delhi, India showed signs of gaining control over the spread of coronavirus infection as new cases in a day fell to their lowest in four months. The total tally, however, is still likely to hit the 90,00,000 mark within days. India added over 38,000 fresh cases in a matter of 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 89.1 lakh in the world's second-worst infected country, according to the Health Ministry. In Tehran, Iran reported on Wednesday 480 deaths and 13,421 infections of the noel coronavirus during the past 24 hours. The Health Ministry said total infections rose to 801,894, while death toll hit 42,941, besides 570,774 recoveries. Iran is experiencing a new wave of coronavirus with daily fatalities on the rise. — Agencies
