As many as 92.15 million (92,153,359) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,973,561 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 65,984,480 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 92 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 1.97 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 Tuesday 204,652 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 22 million. It also recorded 1,731 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 22,613,782 and at least 376,060 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 129,748 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 10.4 and 8 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 Moscow, Russia reported 22,850 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,471,053 after it crossed the 3.4 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 566 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 63,370. They added 28,658 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,854,088. 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 Wednesday 1,060 deaths and 19,600 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 42,637 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,953,426. 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. In Paris, the French Health Ministry reported 19,752 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 2,806,590. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 452 at 68,802. France announced last Friday its approval of the use of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and to include it in its vaccine program. In Rome, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 79,819 on Tuesday, Health Ministry data showed. Some 616 new cases were logged in the past 24 hours to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to 2,300,000, according to government figures. It noted 19,565 people recovered from the virus in the past day, taking the tally to more than 1,653,000 recoveries since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Wednesday increased to 667,322 with 2,099 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 72 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 20,194. In Amsterdam, The Netherlands has reported 49,398 new coronavirus cases in a week (Jan. 6-12), raising the total infections to 883.135. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, in its weekly reports on Tuesdays, reported 743 more deaths from COVID-19 raising the total death toll to 12,563. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Wednesday that they recorded 1,917 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 385,750. More than 353,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 6,868, said the country's Health Ministry. In New Delhi, India said on Wednesday that 202 people died due to COVID-19 while 15,988 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 151,529 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,495,147. According to the ministry, 10,129,111 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 Wednesday 5,319 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 300,414, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll stood at 4,289. Tokyo added 1,433 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 78,566. 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 562 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 70,212, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Twenty people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,185. Of the newly identified local infections, 148 cases were reported in Seoul and 189 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. In Latin America, Brazil has more than eight million confirmed cases and the world's second highest death toll. The country is currently seeing a second surge in infections. Brazil ranks third in terms of infection numbers globally, behind the United States and India. On fatalities, Brazil ranks second behind the US. In Brasilia, Brazil reported 64,025 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 1,110 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, as the country battles a resurgence in the pandemic. Brazil has now registered 8,195,637 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 204,690, according to ministry data, in the world's third worst outbreak outside the United States and India. 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. In Mexico City, Mexico reported 14,395 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,314 more fatalities on Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry, bringing its total to 1,556,028 infections and 135,682 deaths. The real number of infected people and deaths is likely significantly higher than the official count, the ministry has said, due to little testing. Africa has recorded more than three million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. Concern is growing about a South African variant of the disease which is thought to share some similarities with the new UK strain, including being more easily transmissible. South Africa, with more than 1.2 million cases and more than 30,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria are the other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. Kenya is the only other country with close to 100,000 cases. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Wednesday that 970 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 151,753 infections and 8,304 deaths the ministry said. Another 423 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 119,635. In Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 801 over the past 24 hours, while 17 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 7,784. The North African nation's caseload has reached 453,789 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data, 1,345 infected people have recovered which showed the tally of people who have recovered from the virus till date as 427,351. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced 59 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 2,585 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 5,343 and 164,936 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 120,999. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 96 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 15,707. Five more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 392. The report said, 196 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 13,835 cases. — Agencies
