The global coronavirus caseload has topped 236.7 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.83 million and vaccinations soared to over 6.39 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 number of vaccine doses administered stood at 236,730,066, 4,833,592 and 6,394,485,945, respectively.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 44,158,348 and 710,173, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 33,894,312 cases.
UK records another 40,701 cases
Another 40,701 people in the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,046,390, according to official figures released Thursday.
It's the first time that the UK's daily coronavirus cases have topped 40,000 in a month, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the official data. The country also recorded another 122 coronavirus-related deaths.
The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 137,417. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. There are currently 6,817 patients in hospital with Covid-19.
The latest data came as the number of countries on the travel red list has been slashed to just seven. The destinations that remain on the red list are Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and Dominican Republic.
It means vaccinated travellers will be able to visit 47 more countries without quarantining on return. Unvaccinated people will still have to self-isolate for 10 days in a mandatory quarantine hotel.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also added 37 countries to the list of locations with approved vaccine programmes, with travellers from those non-red list countries no longer having to quarantine for 10 days on arrival from Monday.
More than 85 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
Canada's Covid-19 cases surpass 1.65 mn
Canada reported 3,783 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday afternoon, bringing the cumulative total to 1,651,233 cases with 28,141 deaths.
Alberta, a province with a population of 4.4 million in the country, reported 1,254 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths, Xinhua news agency reported, citing CTV.
There are 1,094 Albertans in hospital receiving treatment for Covid-19 as the province gears up for the Thanksgiving long weekend. The province now has 18,411 active cases. It identified 248 patients in intensive care units (ICU), with 87 percent being unvaccinated.
Quebec, a populous province in Canada, reported Thursday that 624 more people in Quebec had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the overall number of infections to 413,903.
Of the new cases, 426 were unvaccinated, 21 received one dose more than two weeks ago, and 177 were double-vaxxed more than seven days ago.
British Columbia confirmed 624 new cases Thursday afternoon. Four more people died of Covid-19 in the 24-hour period in the province, which raised the death toll to 1,996. The total known cases since the start of the pandemic were 191,748, and the total active cases were 5,929.
Ontario, the most populous province with a population of 1.4 million in Canada, reported 587 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday as the province has released guidelines on how residents can celebrate Thanksgiving this holiday weekend.
The new infections marked an increase from the 476 cases logged Wednesday and 429 Tuesday. The latest seven-day average of daily Covid-19 cases stood at 565, down from 574 the previous week, with just over 37,000 tests processed in the last 24 hours.
Six additional deaths were reported on Thursday, bringing the province's total death tally due to the pandemic to 9,776. The province also identified an additional 38 cases of the Delta variant in lab-confirmed Covid-19 tests, bringing the total to 18,979.
Iran reports 11,625 new Covid cases, 233 deaths
The Iranian Health Ministry reported 11,625 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the country's total infections to 5,674,083.
According to an official briefing published by Iran's state TV, the pandemic has claimed 122,012 lives in the country so far, after 233 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours.
A total of 5,169,999 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 5,549 remain in intensive care units, the ministry said on its official website.
By Thursday, 43,543,099 Iranians have received their first doses of Covid-19 vaccines, and 17,881,303 of them have taken two jabs. The official report added that 32,936,656 tests have so far been carried out across the country. Iran reported the first case of Covid-19 in the country in February 2020.
Other countries
The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (21,532,558), the UK (8,084,275), Russia (7,575,825), Turkey (7,357,306), France (7,142,387), Iran (5,674,083), Argentina (5,264,305), Spain (4,971,310), Colombia (4,967,524), Italy (4,692,274), Germany (4,295,876), Indonesia (4,224,487) and Mexico (3,699,621), the CSSE figures showed.
Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Brazil (599,810), India (449,856), Mexico (280,610), Russia (209,752), Peru (199,581), Indonesia (142,494), the UK (137,818), Italy (131,198), Colombia (126,517), Iran (122,012), France (117,845) and Argentina (115,416).
(With inputs from IANS)
