As many as 102.7 million (102,738,824) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,218,585 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 74,452,090 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.21 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 has recorded about 25 million cases and more than 420,000 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Daily cases were at record levels in early January but they are now falling. More than 100,000 coronavirus patients are in hospital, but those numbers are dropping too. Canada, which has a far lower death rate than the US, also experienced a winter surge but daily cases are also falling there now. The US recorded Friday 164,665 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 25 million. It also recorded 3,872 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 25,762,726 and at least 433,067 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 104,303 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 10.7 and 9 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, the United Kingdom recorded a further 1,245 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Friday, up from 1,239 the day before, Reuters quoted government data as showing. Recently, the British government declared that flights to and from Latin America's countries and Portugal are banned because of fears of the spread of new mutated strains of the coronavirus that appeared in Brazil. The ban suspends flights to and from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Banana, Paraguay, Peru and others. As of next Monday, all passengers to Britain must have a document valid up to 72 hours free of coronavirus. In Moscow, Russia reported 19,023 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,832,080 after it crossed the 3.8 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 512 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 72,697. They added 24,502 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 3,837,550. 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 Saturday 794 deaths and 12,321 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 56,546 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,205,171. 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 Rome, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 87,858 on Friday after 477 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 13,574 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to over 2,529,070, according to government figures. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Saturday increased to 705,120 with 2,683 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 36 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 21,018. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Friday reported that 4,438 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 970,789. Also around 58 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 13,877, said the institute. In Beijing, China Saturday reported 52 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and no virus-related deaths in the past 24 hours. The National Health Commission said total registered infections rose to 89,430 and fatalities remained at 4,636. It added 143 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 83,083. There are still 1,711 patients receiving treatment. In New Delhi, India said on Saturday that 137 people died due to COVID-19 while 13,083 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 154,147 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,733,131. According to the ministry, 10,409,160 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 Seoul, South Korea reported Friday 469 more COVID-19 cases, including 445 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 77,395, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap News Agency reported. The figure was down from 497 on Thursday. 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 nine 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. 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 3.5 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 Friday that 589 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 48 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 164,871 infections and 9,217 deaths the ministry said. Another 360 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 128,880. In Rabat, Morocco on Friday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 851 over the past 24 hours, while 22 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 8,246. The North African nation's caseload has reached 469,990 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Friday announced 91 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,679 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 6,599 and 206,030 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 154,455. — Agencies
