The global coronavirus caseload has topped 240 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.88 million and vaccinations soared to over 6.58 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
In its latest update on Saturday 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 240,036,345, 4,888,986 and 6,586,517,325, respectively.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 44,883,603 and 723,747, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in the second place with 34,037,592 cases.
US child Covid cases top 6 million
The cumulative number of child Covid-19 cases in the US has surpassed 6 million, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). As of October 7, over 6.04 million American children have contracted the virus since the pandemic began, AAP said.
The number of new child Covid-19 cases remains exceptionally high, it said. Over 148,000 cases were added between September 30 and October 7, with over 750,000 child cases added over the past four weeks.
Over two weeks, September 23-October 7, there was a 6 per cent increase in the cumulated number of child Covid-19 cases in the country, said the report.
UK records over 40K Covid cases for third day in a row
Another 44,932 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19 as the country recorded more than 40,000 Covid-19 cases on the third successive day, according to official figures released on Friday.
It brought the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,361,651. The country's coronavirus-related death toll rose by 145 to a total of 138,379. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.
There are currently 7,086 patients in hospital with COVID-19. The data came as National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace estimated that 400,000 coronavirus test samples were processed through the Immensa Health Clinic lab in Wolverhampton and an estimated 43,000 people may have been given incorrect results between September 8 and October 12.
Africa's Covid cases surpass 8.41 million
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa reached 8,414,571 cases as of Friday afternoon, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
The Africa CDC, the specialised healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 215,042. Some 7,786,325 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far, according to the agency.
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the agency.
In terms of caseload, southern Africa is the most affected region, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected region in the continent, according to the Africa CDC.
Other countries
The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (21,627,476), the UK (8,400,971), Russia (7,804,750), Turkey (7,601,596), France (7,180,773), Iran (5,765,904), Argentina (5,271,361), Spain (4,984,386), Colombia (4,978,689), Italy (4,712,482), Germany (4,366,833), Indonesia (4,233,014) and Mexico (3,744,574), the CSSE figures showed.
Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Brazil (602,669), India (451,814), Mexico (283,574), Russia (217,382), Peru (199,775), Indonesia (142,889), the UK (138,792), Italy (131,503), Colombia (126,796), Iran (123,695), France (118,153) and Argentina (115,660).
(With inputs from IANS)
