As many as 109.4 million (109,459,931) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,412,925 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 81,550,539 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.41 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 has recorded about 27 million cases and more than 484,000 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Daily cases were at record levels in early January but they are now falling. More than 100,000 coronavirus patients are in hospital, but those numbers are dropping too. Canada, which has a far lower death rate than the US, also experienced a winter surge but daily cases are also falling there now. The US recorded Sunday 82,178 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 27 million. It also recorded 3,313 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 27,574,201 and at least 484,200 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. Furthermore there were a record 69,283 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. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told NBC network, "We are still at about 100,000 cases a day. We are still at around 1,500 to 3,500 deaths per day. The cases are more than two-and-a half fold times what we saw over the summer. It's encouraging to see these trends coming down, but they're coming down from an extraordinarily high police." India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10.9 and 9.8 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 258 to 117,166, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Sunday. As many as 11,000 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country's overall count to 4,380,000, according to the department's daily update. Recently, the British government declared that flights to and from Latin America's countries and Portugal are banned because of fears of the spread of new mutated strains of the coronavirus that appeared in Brazil. The ban suspends flights to and from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Banana, Paraguay, Peru and others. All passengers to Britain must have a document valid up to 72 hours free of coronavirus. In Moscow, Russia reported 14,207 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 4,086,090 after it crossed the 4 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 394 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 80,520. They added 13,945 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 3,607,036. 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 Monday 116 deaths and 4,426 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 65,076 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,338,987. 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, the French Health Ministry reported 16,546 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,466,163. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 167 at 81,814. France announced its approval of the use of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and to include it in its vaccine program. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Monday increased to 738,631 with 1,516 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 28 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 21,662. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Sunday that 3,497 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 1,029,534. Also around 23 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 14,819, said the institute. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Monday that they recorded 1,225 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 434,703. More than 411,000 cases have recovered Since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 8,211, said the country's Health Ministry. In Beijing, China Monday reported 9 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and no virus-related deaths in the past 24 hours. The National Health Commission said total registered infections rose to 89,772 and fatalities remained at 4,636. It added 61 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 84,499. There are still 637 patients receiving treatment. In New Delhi, India said on Monday that 90 people died due to COVID-19 while 11,649 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 155,732 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,916,589. According to the ministry, 10,621,220 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 Monday 478 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 416,423, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll stood at 6,982. Tokyo added 266 new infections, falling below 300 for the first time in a week, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 106,771. In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus variants, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures. It had suspended new entries of non-resident foreign nationals from around the world to Japan through Jan. 31. In Seoul, South Korea reported 344 new coronavirus cases Monday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 83,869, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Five people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,527. Of the newly identified local infections, 147 cases were reported in Seoul and 99 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. The government lowered the current level distancing measures in the capital area to level 2 and Level 1,5 restrictions in the rest of the country for two weeks starting Monday. The ban on private gatherings of five or more people remains in place, while reunions of immediate family members are allowed. In Latin America, Brazil has more than nine million confirmed cases (9,800,000) and the world's second highest death toll (238,532). The country is currently seeing a second surge in infections. 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 3.7 million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. Concern is growing about a South African variant of the disease which is thought to share some similarities with the new UK strain, including being more easily transmissible. South Africa, with more than 1.2 million cases and more than 30,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria are the other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. Kenya is the only other country with close to 100,000 cases. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Sunday that 611 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 56 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country's tally to 173,813 infections and 9,994 deaths the ministry said. Another 322 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 134,960. In Rabat, Morocco on Sunday said confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 339 over the past 24 hours, while 17 more people succumbed to the disease to up the country's death toll to 8,477. The North African nation's caseload has reached 478,474 since the contagion came to light, according to the Health Ministry's data the tally of people who have recovered from the virus till date as 458,852. In Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Sunday announced 36 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 740 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 7,544 and 223,244 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 182,421. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Sunday that 9 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 16,974 while two more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 430. The report said, 25 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 16,240 cases. — Agencies
