Poonam Singh

Washington: The overall global coronavirus caseload has topped 92 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.97 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 92,291,033 and 1,961,987, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 23,067,796 and 384,604, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 10,495,147, while the country's death toll soared to 151,529.

The other countries with more than a million confirmed cases are Brazil (8,256,536), Russia (3,434,934), the UK (3,220,953), France (2,888,292), Turkey (2,355,839), Italy (2,319,036), Spain (2,176,089), Germany (1,981,013), Colombia (1,831,980), Argentina (1,757,429), Mexico (1,556,028), Poland (1,404,905), Iran (1,305,339), South Africa (1,278,303), Ukraine (1,166,958) and Peru (1,040,231), the CSSE figures showed.

Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 205,964.

The countries with a death toll above 20,000 are Mexico (135,682), the UK (84,910), Italy (80,326), France (69,168), Russia (62,463), Iran (56,457), Spain (52,878), Colombia (47,124), Argentina (44,983), Germany (43,604), Peru (38,399), South Africa (35,140), Poland (32,074), Indonesia (24,951), Turkey (23,325), Ukraine (21,121) and Belgium (20,194).

Putin demands vigilance despite easing pandemic in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the noticeable downward trend in new coronavirus cases in the country should not be perceived as reassuring.

"We see that in the world as a whole, unfortunately, it is not yet possible to curb this disease and prevent all the negative consequences," Putin said during his meeting with government members via video link on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the president, Russia is observing the current situation with the coronavirus in other countries, including in Britain.

Putin ordered the start of mass vaccinations for the entire population from next week, as people from high-risk groups have been receiving the jab since early December.

Ultimately, travel restrictions will only be temporary measures and it is vital to fully understand the situation in Russia and figure out how to prevent emerging threats, including new strains of the virus, he said.

To date, Russia has registered a total of 3,471,053 Covid-19 cases, with the daily tally dropping to around 23,000.

(With IANS Inputs)

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