As many as 115.5 million (115,513,850) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,564,471 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 91,260,196 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 100 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.56 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 nearly 30 million cases and more than 529,465 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Daily cases were at record levels in early January but they have fallen substantially in the last few weeks. Canada, which has a far lower death rate than the US, also experienced a winter surge but daily cases have also been falling recently. The US recorded Tuesday 29,381.220 total coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 29 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed at least 529,465 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world's worst hit by the pandemic. The report also showed 19,9078,106 recovered. The US ranks first globally in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, preliminary data show that rates of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations continue to decline after peaking in early January. This decline is promising, but we should all do our part to slow the spread: Wear a mask. Stay 6 feet apart. Counties in states with statewide mask mandates were 43% less likely to have rapid increases in COVID-19 cases during the summer of 2020. Nonmetropolitan counties were 67% less likely. The 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 11 and 10.6 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 10,565 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 4,278,750 after it crossed the 4 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 452 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 87,348. 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 418 deaths and 9,019 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country's death toll increased to 70,881 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,460,030. 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 22,857 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,780,000. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 159 to 87,220. 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 Wednesday increased to 774,344 with 2,050 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 35 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 22,141. In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Wednesday that 5,090 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 1,100,000. Also around 48 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 15,697, said the institute. In Beijing, China Wednesday reported 10 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 89,933 and fatalities remained at 4,636. It added 24 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 85,111. There are still 186 patients receiving treatment. In New Delhi, India said on Wednesday that 98 people died due to COVID-19 while 14,989 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 157,346 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 11,139,516. According to the ministry, 10,812,044 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 929 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation's total number 434,818, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country's cumulative death toll rose by 51 and stood at 8,023. Tokyo added 316 new infections, topping 300 for the first time in three days, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 112,345. 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 444 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 90,816, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Six people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,612. Of the newly identified local infections, 116 cases were reported in Seoul and 218 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Authorities recently lowered the social distancing to level 2 — the third highest in the five-tier system — for the Greater Seoul metropolitan area and level 1.5 for the rest of the country, effective two weeks. A ban on private gatherings of five or more people remains in place, while re8unions of immediate family members are allowed.. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Tuesday posted a single-day record for COVID-19 deaths with 1,641 people dying from the disease, according to Health Ministry data. That surpassed the previous single-day high of 1,595 COVID-19 deaths recorded in late July 2020, as Brazil faces a new peak in coronavirus cases and the hospital system is pushed to the brink of collapse. Roughly 10.6 million people have been infected since the pandemic began, according to the Health Ministry, with 59,925 new cases reported on Tuesday. More than 257,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, according to the official count, making it the deadliest outbreak after that of the United States. In Latin America, Brazil has more than ten million confirmed cases (10.6 million) and the world's second highest death toll (257,000). 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 3.8 million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and prevention in Africa announced Sunday that the tally of cases surpassed 3,809,172 throughout Africa. Moreover the COVID-19 death toll reached about 100,674 cases, said Africa CDC. 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 Tunis, Tunisia's Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced 25 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 562 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 8,047 and 234,231 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 199,476. Meanwhile, Mauritania's Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 18 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country's caseload to 17,235 while the fatalities remained 441. The report said, 23 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 16,606 cases. — Agencies
