As many as 109 million (109,195,022) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,407,171 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 81,231,258 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.4 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 27 million cases and more than 480,000 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 97,525 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 27 million. It also recorded 5,323 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 27,490,037 and at least 480,767 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 71,504 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. This comes as January was the "deadliest month of the pandemic in the US, with more than 95,000 COVID-19 fatalities reported," CNN reported. India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10.9 and 9.8 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 London, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 621 to 116,908, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Saturday. As many as 13,308 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country's overall count to 4,027,000, 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. All passengers to Britain must have a document valid up to 72 hours free of coronavirus. In Moscow, Russia reported 14,185 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 4,071,883 after it crossed the 4 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 430 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 80,126. 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 218 deaths and 6,114 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 64,960 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,334,561. 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 21,231 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Saturday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,448,617. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 199 at 81,647. 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 93,356 on Saturday after 311 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 13,532 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to over 2,710,819, according to government figures. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Saturday that 4,229 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 1,026,037. Also around 67 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 14,796, said the institute. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Sunday that they recorded 1,184 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 433,487. More than 411,000 cases have recovered Since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 8,211, said the country's Health Ministry. In Beijing, China Sunday reported 7 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 89,763 and fatalities remained at 4,636. It added 81 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 84,438. There are still 689 patients receiving treatment. In New Delhi, India said on Sunday that 92 people died due to COVID-19 while 12,194 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 155,642 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,904,940. According to the ministry, 10,611,731 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 362 new coronavirus cases Saturday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 83,199, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Seven people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,514. 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 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil recorded 44,299 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 1,043 more deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. Brazil has registered more than 9.8 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 238,532, according to ministry data. In Latin America, Brazil has more than nine million confirmed cases (9,800,000) and the world's second highest death toll (238,532). 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 3.7 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 600 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 36 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 173,202 infections and 9,935 deaths the ministry said. Another 423 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 134,638. In Rabat, Morocco on Saturday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 479 over the past 24 hours, while 10 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 8,460. The North African nation's caseload has reached 478,135 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Saturday announced 47 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,049 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 7,508 and 222,504 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 181,627. — Agencies
