As many as 81.8 million (81,844,869) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,785,028 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 57,041,256 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 80 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.76 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 150,092 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 1,209 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University on Monday. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 19,134,976 and at least 333,125 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there are 118,720 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 10.22 and 7.5 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 Moscow, Russia reported 27,002 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,105,037 after it crossed the 3 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 562 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 55,827. 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 Tuesday 852 deaths and 12,892 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 30,978 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,664,726. 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, French health authorities reported 2,960 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Monday, raising the country's caseload to 2,562,646. The ministry said the virus-induced deaths increased by 363 to 63,109. Earlier, the French government said it was weighing the viability of imposing a third nationwide lockdown to curb the outbreak of the pandemic. France launched its vaccination campaign on Sunday along with most other EU countries. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Tuesday increased to 639,734 with 857 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 34 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 19,234. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the environment Monday reported that 7,453 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 770,676. Also around 44 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 11,047, said the institute. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Tuesday that they recorded 1,868 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 355,352. More than 328,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 6,059, said the country's Health Ministry. In New Delhi, India said on Tuesday that 252 people died due to COVID-19 while 16,432 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 148,153 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,224,303. According to the ministry, 9,807,569 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 Tuesday 2,551 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 225,122, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll rose by 48 and stood at 3,337. Tokyo added 856 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 57,896. In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus variants, the government suspended new entries of non-resident foreign nationals from around the world to Japan through Jan. 31. In Seoul, South Korea reported 1,046 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 58,725, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Forty people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 859. Of the newly identified local infections, 519 cases were reported in Seoul and 251vcases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. On Sunday, 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. 3. 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. The government has urged citizens to strictly comply with the distancing rules, warning that any violations will face a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,700). In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil recorded 20,548 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 431 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Monday. Brazil has registered more than 7.5 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 191,570, according to ministry data. 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 two and half million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 800,000 cases and nearly 23,000 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 Monday that 1,359 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 61 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 133,900 infections and 7,466 deaths the ministry said. Another 421 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 110,436. In Rabat, Morocco on Monday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 950 over the past 24 hours, while 32 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 7,272. The North African nation's caseload has reached 433,029 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data, which showed 399,575 people have recovered from the virus till date. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Monday announced 52 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,612 more infections in 24 hours. The tally confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,518 and 133,204 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 101,245. — Agencies
