Global coronavirus cases reaches 117.6m; death toll hits 2.6m

LONDON — As many as 117.6 million (117,653,795) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,609,055 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 93,298,530 cases of global recoveries.

Asia 728x90

Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.6 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 nearly 30 million cases and more than 538,180 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Daily cases were at record levels in early January but they have fallen substantially in the last few weeks.

Canada, which has a far lower death rate than the US, also experienced a winter surge but daily cases have also been falling recently. The US recorded Sunday 29,719,770 total coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 29 million.

According to Johns Hopkins University at least 538,180 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world’s worst hit by the pandemic with 20,387,914 people having recovered from the disease.

India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 11 and 10.8 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 65 to 1242,566, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Monday. As many as 4,712 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country’s overall count to 4,223,000, 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.

In Moscow, Russia reported 10,253 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 4,333,029 after it crossed the 4 million mark. Russia’s coronavirus crisis center said 379 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 89,473.

They added 10,322 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 3,922,246. 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 Monday 34 deaths and 5,011 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country’s death toll increased to 71,934 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,505,193.

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 21,825 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday. France’s cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,904,233. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 130 to 88,574. 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 100,103 on Monday after 318 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 13,902 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world’s worst-affected countries to over 3,081,368, according to government figures.

In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Monday increased to 787,891 with 2,082 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 21 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 22,261.

In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Monday that 3,924 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 1,125,280. Also around 26 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 15,860, said the institute.

In Beijing, China Monday reported 19 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 89,994 and fatalities remained at 4,636.

It added 9 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 85,175. There are still 184 patients receiving treatment.

In New Delhi, India said on Monday that 97 people died due to COVID-19 while 18,599 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 157,853 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 11,229,398.

According to the ministry, 10,882,798 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 Monday 325 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation’s total number 440,305, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country’s cumulative death toll stood at 8,275.

Tokyo added 116 new infections, falling below 200 for the first time in seven days, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 113,571. 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 346 new coronavirus cases Monday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 92,817, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Eight (person) people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,642. Of the newly identified local infections, 97 cases were reported in Seoul and 128 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital.

Authorities recently lowered the social distancing to level 2 — the third highest in the five-tier system — for the Greater Seoul metropolitan area and level 1.5 for the rest of the country, effective two weeks. A ban on private gatherings of five or more people remains in place, while reunions of immediate family members are allowed.

In Latin America, Brazil has more than nine million confirmed cases (10,800,000) 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 3.8 million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and prevention in Africa announced Sunday that the tally of cases surpassed 3,809,172 throughout Africa. Moreover the COVID-19 death toll reached about 100,674 cases, said Africa CDC.

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 Sunday that 581 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 41 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 186,503 infections and 10,995 deaths the ministry said. Another 444 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 144,019.

— Agencies