As many as 78.4 million (78,453,371) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,726,095 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 55,212,734 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 78 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.7 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 recorded of almost 190,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nationwide surpassed 18 million. The US recorded 190,519 new cases and 1,696 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 18,0335,209 cases and at least 319,364 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Furthermore there are a record 115,351 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 and 7 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. Russia on Wednesday confirmed 27,250 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours pushing the national tally to 2,933,753. Authorities said 549 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 52,461. The coronavirus operations centre said 24,447 people recovered in the past 24 hours to reach 2,343,967. 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 Wednesday 962 deaths and 24,740 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 27,968 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,554,920. 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, France reported 11,795 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 5,797 on Monday and nearly unchanged from 11,532 a week ago, raising the overall total to 2.49 million, Health Ministry data showed. On Mondays the official number of new infections in France usually drops because of a weekend reporting lag, Reuters reported. In Rome, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 69,842 on Tuesday after 628 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 13,318 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to 1,977,370, according to government figures. The number of recoveries exceeded 1.3 million since the outbreak of the pandemic, it noted. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Wednesday increased to 629,109 with 2,198 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 124 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 18,821. In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Tuesday reported new 260 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 10,654 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 1,829,903 and the death toll to 49,520 since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the environment Tuesday reported that 82,340 new coronavirus cases were reported in a week (Dec. 15-22) in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 710,683. Also around 472 deaths were reported i the same week raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 10,633, said the institute in its weekly updates. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Wednesday that they recorded 2,131 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 342,220. More that 309,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 5,645, said the country's Health Ministry. In New Delhi, India said on Wednesday that 333 people died due to COVID-19 while 23,950 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 146,444 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,099,066. According to the ministry, 9,663,382 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 Wednesday 3,298 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 205,515, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll rose by 54 and stood at 3,034. Tokyo added 748 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 53,130. In response to a sharp increase in new infections across the country, the government plans to suspend its domestic travel subsidy campaign from Dec. 28 to Jan. 11. In Seoul, South Korea added 1,092 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the country's total caseload to 52,550, according to Yonhap news agency. It was the second-highest one-day tally of confirmed cases since the pandemic began, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The daily death toll hit 17, raising the total to 739, it said. Of the newly identified local infections, 373 cases were reported in Seoul and 299 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Prime minister Chung Sye-Kyun said Tuesday that the government will ban private gatherings of five or more people nationwide during the upcoming holiday season to curb the spread of coronavirus. In Latin America, Brazil has more than seven million confirmed cases and the world's second highest death toll. The country is currently seeing a second surge in infections. 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. Africa has recorded about 2.5 million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 900,000 cases and 24,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tunisia are the only other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Tuesday that 788 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 37 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 127,061 infections and 7,167 deaths the ministry said. Another 401 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 107,563. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced 38 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,605 more infections in 24 hours. The tally confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,237 and 123,323 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 178 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 12,745. Four more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 290. The report said, 162 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 9,005 cases. — Agencies
