New York: In a grim milestone, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed the 60 million mark, while the deaths have surged to 1,413,325 according to the Johns Hopkins University.
The global case count reached 60,037,735, with a total of 1,413,325 deaths worldwide as of 12:27 p.m. local time (1727 GMT), the CSSE data showed.
The US reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 12,642,245 and 260,591, respectively. India recorded 9,222,216 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 6,118,708 cases and 170,115 deaths, the world's second largest death toll, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Countries with more than 1.5 million cases also include France, Russia, Spain and Britain, while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy and France, according to the CSSE tally.
Global cases topped 40 million on Oct. 19, and hit 50 million on November 8. It took 20 days for the global caseload to jump from 40 million to 50 million, and only 17 days from 50 million to 60 million.
The US remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 per cent of global cases.
On Tuesday, the US identified 1,72,935 new cases, marking the 22nd consecutive day that the country had reported more than 1,00,000 new cases.
US medical professionals and experts feared the case number will continue to surge after the Thanksgiving holiday.
US Covid-19 deaths top 2,60,000: Johns Hopkins University
US Covid-19 deaths surpassed 2,60,000 on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
With the national caseload topping 12.6 million, the death toll across the US rose to 2,60,322 as of 11:25 a.m. local time (1625 GMT), according to the CSSE data.
New York state reported 34,362 fatalities, at the top of the US state-level death toll list. Texas recorded the second most deaths, standing at 21,245. The states of California, Florida and New Jersey all confirmed more than 16,000 deaths, the tally showed.
States with more than 9,000 fatalities also include Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The US remains the nation hit the worst by the pandemic, with the world's highest caseload and death toll, accounting for more than 18 per cent of global deaths.
The US reported 2,146 daily deaths associated with Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest since May, the CSSE chart showed.
An updated model forecast by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projected a total of 4,70,974 Covid-19 deaths in the US by March 1, 2021, based on current projection scenario.
UK records highest daily Covid-19 death toll since May 5
The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 696 to 56,533, marking the highest daily death number since May 5, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
Another 18,213 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,557,007, the data showed.
The figures came as some scientists warned that the British government's plan to relax coronavirus restrictions over Christmas risk "throwing fuel on the Covid fire", the Xinhua news agency reported.
France registers 16,282 new Covid-19 cases, 381 deaths
France on Wednesday registered 16,282 new Covid-19 cases and 381 deaths in a 24-hour span, while pressure on the country's health services continued to ease, health authorities said.
Since the start of the pandemic, 21,70,097 people have been infected with the virus, and 50,618 of them have died. France now ranks fourth in the number of total Covid-19 cases after the United States, India and Brazil, the Xinhua news agency reported.
As of Wednesday, 29,972 Covid-19 patients had been hospitalised (down 650 from Tuesday), confirming a downward trend reported since mid-November. Of the hospitalised, 4,148 are in intensive care, down 141 in the past 24 hours.
(With IANS Inputs)