Global caseload tops 192.5mn; UK surge consistent

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 192.5 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.12 million and vaccinations soared to over 3.74 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and the total number of vaccine doses administered stood at 192,516,387, 4,127,963 and 3,746,414,242, respectively.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 34,282,698 and 610,190, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in second place with 31,257,720 cases.

The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (19,523,711), France (5,996,060), Russia (5,979,027), the UK (5,626,311), Turkey (5,563,903), Argentina (4,812,351), Colombia (4,692,570), Italy (4,302,393), Spain (4,249,258), Germany (3,758,425) and Iran (3,623,840), the CSSE figures showed.

In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 547,016 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are India (418,987), Mexico (237,626), Peru (195,243), Russia (149,012), the UK (129,266), Italy (127,920), Colombia (117,836), France (111,749) and Argentina (103,074).

UK reports 39K Covid cases in 24 hrs

Britain has reported another 39,906 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 5,602,321, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The country also recorded another 84 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now standing at 128,980. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.

England has recently lifted most Covid-19 restrictions as part of the final step of the roadmap out of the lockdown. Scientists have warned that lifting all restrictions at this stage could increase likelihood of dangerous variants.

The average number of daily cases in England is around 41,000, and hospitalizations and deaths are rising too although at a much lower level than during previous waves, said Nadhim Zahawi, the minister for Covid-19 vaccine deployment. He made the remarks when updating members of the parliament on Thursday.

About 88 per cent of adults in Britain have received the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and more than 69 per cent have received two doses, according to the latest figures.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.