As many as 89.4 million (89,475,846) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,924,482 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 64,126,579 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 89 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 1.92 million deaths. The virus is surging in many regions and countries that had apparent success in suppressing initial outbreaks are also seeing infections rise again. The US recorded Friday 264,703 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 26 million. It also recorded 4,085 virus-related deaths, recorded for the first time since the start of the pandemic according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 21,579,567 and at least 365,517 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 132,370 people currently hospitalized for coronavirus in the US, according to COVID Tracking Project. The US ranks first globally in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10.3 and 7.7 million cases respectively. Infections have been reported in more than 218 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Daily cases have now fallen in many European countries after steep rises in October. Lockdowns and other restrictions were reintroduced in some of the worst-affected regions to help bring numbers down. In London, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 1,325 to 79,833, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Friday. As many as 68,053 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country's overall count to just under three million, according to the department's daily update. In Moscow, Russia reported 23,309 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,371,000 after it crossed the 3.37 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 470 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 61,381. They added 23,680 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,754,809. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Russia on Jan. 31, 2020 when two Chinese citizens in Tyumen (Siberia) and Chita (Russia Far east) tested positive for the virus. In Berlin, German health authorities reported on Tuesday 1,083 deaths and 24,694 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 39,878 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,891,581. Germany responded to the second wave of the deadly pandemic by shutting hospitality businesses as well as leisure and sports facilities. Schools and non-essential shops have, however, remained open. France reported on Friday 19,814 new daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, down from 21,703 on Thursday, Reuters reported. French Health Ministry also reported 281 new virus death in hospitals, up from 277 on Thursday, confirming initial data. In Rome, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 77,911 on Friday after 620 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 17,533 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to 2,238,000, according to government figures. It noted 17,575 people recovered from the virus in the past day, taking the tally to more than 1,590,000 recoveries since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Saturday increased to 660,703 with 2,048 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 56 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 19,992. In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday reported new 199 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 25,456 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 2,050,360 and the death toll to 51,874 since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Friday reported that 8,169 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 858,932. Also around 89 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 12,175, said the institute. In Lisbon, Portugal saw its worst day in the coronavirus pandemic so far on Friday registering 10,176 new infections and beating its previous record set only two days before. The new record beats the 10,027 infections reported on Wednesday, which topped the previous record from Dec. 31 of 7,627. Friday also saw a record number of deaths: 118 in a day. The last time that number was at its peak was December 13, at 98 deaths. Hospitals are under increasing pressure as the numbers rise, with 3,451 COVID-19 patients in their care as of Friday — a new high. Since the pandemic began, Portugal has recorded more than 466,000 coronavirus infections and 7,590 deaths. In New Delhi, India said on Saturday that 228 people died due to COVID-19 while 18,222 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that fatalities due to COVID-19 rose to 150,796 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,431,639. According to the ministry, 10,056,651 people recuperated from the pandemic as it spread to 35 states. India has the world's second-highest caseload, but daily infections have dipped steadily since hitting a peak in September. In Tokyo, Japan reported on Friday 7,417 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 271,055, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll rose by 69 and stood at 3,900. Tokyo added a record 2,392 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 71,182. In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus variants, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures. It had suspended new entries of non-resident foreign nationals from around the world to Japan through Jan. 31. In Seoul, South Korea reported 674 new coronavirus cases Friday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 67,360, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Thirty-five people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,081. Of the newly identified local infections, 263 cases were reported in Seoul and 269 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. The government extended the current level 2.5 distancing measures in the capital area and Level 2 restrictions in the rest of the country until Jan. 17. South Korea is grappling to contain yet another wave of virus infections with the toughest social distancing rules banning gatherings of five or more people. Brazil has registered more than 7.7 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 195,725, according to ministry data. Brazil ranks third in terms of infection numbers globally, behind the United States and India. On fatalities, Brazil ranks second behind the US. Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have also recorded more than one million cases and all three countries are still seeing very high numbers of daily confirmed cases. Peru is also approaching the milestone of one million cases, although daily cases are falling. The country has one of the highest deaths rates in the world. Africa has recorded more than two and half million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 800,000 cases and nearly 23,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tunisia are the only other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Saturday that 1,001 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 56 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 147,810 infections and 8,085 deaths the ministry said. Another 754 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 117,529. In Rabat, Morocco on Friday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 1,543 over the past 24 hours, while 40 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 7,685. The North African nation's caseload has reached 450,221 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data, 1,503 infected people have recovered which showed the tally of people who have recovered from the virus till date as 422,072. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Monday announced 56 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 2,649 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 5,108 and 154,903 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 115,173. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Monday that 81 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 14,875. Two more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 360. The report said, 241 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 12,377 cases. — Agencies
