As many as 103.2 million (103,239,738) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,231,752 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 74,898,666 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.23 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 430,000 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 Saturday 162,601 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 25 million. It also recorded 3,483 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 25,929,282 and at least 436,678 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 101,003 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, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 1,200 to 105,571, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Saturday. As many as 23,275 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country's overall count to 3,796,000, according to the department's daily update. 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 18,359 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,850,439 after it crossed the 3.8 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 485 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 73,182. They added 20,040 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 3,300,004. 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 Sunday 399 deaths and 11,192 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 56,945 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,216,363. 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 24,392 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Saturday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,177,879. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 242 at 75,862. France announced 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 88,279 on Saturday after 421 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 12,715 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to over 2,541,783, according to government figures. It noted 16,764 people recovered from the virus in the past day, taking the tally to more than 1,990,152 recoveries since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Saunday increased to 707,837 with 2,717 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 48 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 21,066. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Saturday reported that 4,211 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 975,000. Also around 88 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 13,9657, said the institute. In Beijing, China Sunday reported 92 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 89,552 and fatalities remained at 4,636. It added 135 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 83,218. There are still 1,663 patients receiving treatment. In New Delhi, India said on Sunday that 127 people died due to COVID-19 while 13,052 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 154,274 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,746,183. According to the ministry, 10,423,125 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 Sunday 458 more COVID-19 cases, including 423 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 77,850, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Yonhap News Agency reported. The figure was down from 469 on Friday and compared with 497 on Thursday and 559 on Wednesday. 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 Saturday that 547 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 46 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 165,418 infections and 9,263 deaths the ministry said. Another 493 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 129,293. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Saturday announced 81 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,438 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 6,680 and 207,468 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 156,160. In Khartoum, Sudan registered on Sunday 40 new positive cases of coronavirus and three new death cases in the past 24 hours. According to the Sudanese Health Ministry, the total number of positive cases increased to 27,133, fatalities to 1,804 deaths, while the total number of recoveries reached 21,300. — Agencies
