As many as 67.4 million (67,440,108) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,542,552 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 46,615,913 cases of global recoveries. Infections have been reported in more than 218 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. In New Delhi, Indian health authorities said on Monday that 391 people died due to COVID-19 as 32,981 positive cases were registered from across the country in a span of 24 hours. India has the second-highest tally in the world after the United States. The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the deaths due to the coronavirus rose to 140,573 as the total number of positive cases amounted to 9,677,203. According to the ministry, 9,139,901 people recuperated from the pandemic as it spread to 35 Indian states. The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use, with immunizations starting next week. But as populations await vaccine rollout, cases remain high across a number of regions of the world. The US has recorded more than 14 million cases and nearly 270,000 deaths from coronavirus, the highest figures in the world. Daily cases have been at record levels since early November and there are now almost 100,000 people in hospital, more than in either of the two previous peaks of the pandemic. The outbreak has had a devastating impact on the US economy, although there are now some signs it is recovering. Nearly eight million Americans, many of them children and minorities, have fallen into poverty since May, according to researchers. Russia confirmed 28,142 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Monday, including 7,279 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,488,912 since the pandemic began. Authorities said 456 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 43,597. The number of healed cases increased to 1,956,588 after adding 18,850 fresh recoveries. In Berlin, Germany announced on Monday that COVID-19 killed 147 people and infected 12,332 others in the past 24 hours. According to Robert Koch Institute for infectious disease, deaths rose up to 18,919 while total infections reached 1,183,654 cases. In Vienna, Austria registered on Monday, 2,263 additional cases of COVID-19, increasing the number of confirmed infections to 303,063. The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection said in an online statement the over three million test were conducted, indicating that 252,000 recovered whereas the death toll hit 3,897. Austria began easing restrictions and closures that were announced early November. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Monday increased to 591,756 with 1,814 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. Up to 66 more deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 17,320. In Tokyo, Japan reported 683 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, raising the nation's total number to 163,625, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll stood at 2,373. Tokyo added, 299 new infections, dipping below 300 for the first time in 12 days, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 44,003. In Seoul, South Korea added 615 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the country's total caseload to 38,161, according to the Yonhap news agency. The country reported four additional fatalities, bringing the total to 549, the Korea Centers for disease Control and Prevention said. Among the new local infections, 231 cases were reported in Seoul and 154 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. The sharp uptick in daily new virus cases forced health authorities to raise the level of the country's social distancing measures by one notch to 2.5, the second highest under the five-tier system, in the greater Seoul areas Tuesday for the next three week. The third-highest level of 2 will be applied to the other areas. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Sunday that 418 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 21 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 118,432 infections and 6,771 deaths the ministry said. Another 177 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 103,501. In Ankara, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday, 195 deaths and 30,402 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours. These figures pushed the total up 14,900 deaths and 539,291 cases. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health said Sunday, that 1,011 people contracted the coronavirus over the past 24 hours bringing the overall infections to 104,002. Thirty-five more patients succumbed to the illness, raising the country's death toll to 3,561. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Sunday that 157 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus bringing the country's caseload to 9,516. Four more fatalities, registered over the past 24 hours, pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 188. Fourteen more coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the total recoveries to 1,849. — Agencies
