Global Covid-19 Cases Surpass 85 Million Mark

Washington: The total number of global covid-19 cases has surpassed the 85 million mark, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.84 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Monday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 85,083,468 and 1,842,492, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 20,626,686 and 351,453, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 10,323,965, while the country's death toll soared to 149,435.

The other countries with more than a million confirmed cases are Brazil (7,733,746), Russia (3,203,743), France (2,712,975), the UK (2,662,698), Turkey (2,241,912), Italy (2,155,446), Spain (1,928,265), Germany (1,783,896), Colombia (1,675,820), Argentina (1,640,718), Mexico (1,448,755), Poland (1,318,562), Iran (1,243,434), Ukraine (1,107,137), South Africa (1,100,748), and Peru (1,018,099), the CSSE figures showed.

Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of fatalities at 196,018.

The countries with a death toll above 20,000 are Mexico (127,213), Italy (75,332), the UK (75,137), France (65,164), Russia (57,730), Iran (55,540), Spain (50,837), Colombia (43,965), Argentina (43,482), Peru (37,773), Germany (34,596), South Africa (29,577), Poland (29,119), Indonesia (22,734) and Turkey (21,488).

UK records another 54,990 coronavirus cases, 454 deaths

Another 54,990 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 26,54,779, according to official figures released on Sunday.

It was the sixth day in a row that daily new cases have topped 50,000 in Britain.

Another 454 have died within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 75,024, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said regional restrictions in England are "probably about to get tougher" in the coming weeks to curb rising coronavirus infections.

British medical experts have warned that tougher days are still ahead due to the spread of the new virus strain, which is said to be 70 per cent more transmissible.

"This new variant is definitely more infectious and is spreading across the whole of the country. It seems very likely that we are going to see more and more cases, wherever people work in the UK, and we need to be prepared for that," Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, told the BBC on Saturday.

London and many other parts of England have already been under the highest Tier Four restrictions, which require residents in the areas to stay at home, with limited exemptions.

In the Tier Four areas, people are also urged to work from home when they can, and should not enter or leave those areas. People should also not mix with anyone outside their own household, apart from support bubbles.

The British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has urged all regions of England to be placed in Tier Four restrictions.

Africa's confirmed Covid-19 cases pass 2.8 mn

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the African continent has reached 28,07,864 on Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has reached 66,631 as of Sunday afternoon, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The Africa CDC, a specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) Commission, also said that a total of 23,32,063 people infected with Covid-19 had recovered from the infectious virus across the continent so far.

The most affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia, respectively, figures from the Africa CDC showed.

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed positive Covid-19 cases, at 10,88,889. The country also has the highest Covid-19-inflicted deaths at 29,175 according to the Africa CDC.

Israel's active Covid-19 cases highest since Oct 2020

The number of active coronavirus cases in Israel has increased 50,299, the highest since October 12, 2020, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

This is a jump of about 559 per cent from November 15, 2020, when 7,629 active cases were recorded, reports Xinhua news agency.

Jerusalem has 9,841 active cases, the central city of Bnei Brak 2,047 cases, and the capital city of Tel Aviv 1,504 cases.

The Ministry also reported 2,067 new Covid-19 cases since Saturday evening, raising the total number in Israel to 435,866.

The death toll rose to 3,391 after seven new fatalities were added, while the number of recoveries increased to 382,176 with 462 new ones.

The number of patients in serious condition decreased from 739 to 729, out of 1,302 patients currently hospitalised.

(With IANS Inputs)