More than 55.93 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,343,584 have died, according to news reports on Thursday. With 248,574 deaths and over 11 million confirmed cases, the United States tops the list of twenty countries with the highest recorded infections and deaths in the world. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. The United States raced past yet another grim milestone Wednesday when it became the world's first country to have 250,000 people die from COVID-19. That figure accounts for nearly 19 percent of the global total of 1.34 million fatalities. With approximately 330 million people, the US has 4.3 percent of the world's population. The US is also the undisputed leader in coronavirus infections with close to 11.5 million or 2.5 million more than second-place India. India recorded 45,576 new cases of the coronavirus, taking total infections to 8.96 million, data from the health ministry said on Thursday. Deaths rose by 585, with the total now at 131,578, the ministry said. The South Asian nation has the world's second-highest number of COVID-19 infections, after the United States, but cases have been falling since hitting a peak in September. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 22,609 to 855,916, data from the Robert Koch Institute, RKI, for infectious diseases showed on Thursday. The reported death toll rose by 251 to 13,370, the tally showed. Russia's COVID-19 case tally passed the 2 million mark on Thursday as the number of daily deaths and infections hit new highs. Russia, which has a huge testing program and a population of around 145 million, has the world's fifth-largest number of cases after the United States, India, Brazil, and France. Tokyo raised its coronavirus alert to the highest level on Thursday as its daily tally of new infections rose to a record 534 and its governor called for maximum caution as the year-end party season approaches. Japan's nationwide tally also hit a new high of 2,259, according to broadcaster TBS. "The number of coronavirus cases is rising so we are considering what steps will be needed with the view that infections could reach 1,000 cases a day," said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. — Agencies
