As many as 82.4 million (82,471,764) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,799,999 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 58,503,597 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 82 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.79 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 168,817 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 1,718 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 19,301,543 and at least 334,836 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 121,235 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 London, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 414 to 71,567, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Tuesday. As many as 53,153 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country's overall count to nearly 2,382,000, according to the department's daily update. In Moscow, Russia reported 26,513 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,131,550 after it crossed the 3 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 599 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 56,426. They added 29,235 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,525,418. 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 1,129 deaths and 22,459 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 32,107 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,687,185. 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 11,395 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, raising the country's caseload to 2,574,041. The ministry said the virus-induced deaths increased by 468 to 64,078. 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 Rome, Italy's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 73,029 on Tuesday after 659 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 11,224 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world's worst-affected countries to 2,067,487, according to government figures. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Wednesday increased to 641,411 with 1,677 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 127 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 19,361. In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Tuesday reported new 320 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 14,089 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 1,893,502 and the death toll to 50,442 since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Amsterdam, The Netherlands has reported 67,388 new coronavirus cases in a week (Dec. 23-29), raising the total infections to 777.902. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, in its weekly reports on Tuesdays, reported 583 more deaths from COVID-19 raising the total death toll to 11,212. 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 Prague, the Czech Republic reported a record high 16,329 daily cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The central European country of 10.7 million has been one of the worst hit, with its total number of detected cases reaching 701,622 with 11,429 deaths. In New Delhi, India said on Wednesday that 286 people died due to COVID-19 while 20,549 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 148,439 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,224,852. According to the ministry, 9,834,141 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 1,050 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 59,773, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Twenty people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 879. Of the newly identified local infections, 383 cases were reported in Seoul and 274 cases 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). 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 Tuesday that 1,333 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 54 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 135,233 infections and 7,520 deaths the ministry said. Another 604 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 111,040. In Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 2,160 over the past 24 hours, while 42 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 7,314. The North African nation's caseload has reached 435,189 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data, 1,854 infected people have recovered which showed the tally of people who have recovered from the virus till date as 401,429. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced 52 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,598 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,570 and 134,802 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 104,101. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 211 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 13,989. Four more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 334. — Agencies
