The global coronavirus caseload has topped 226.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.65 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University's latest update on the pandemic situation across the world.
In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and vaccination tally stood at 226,321,414, 4,658,267 and 5,776,446,826, respectively.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 41,535,666 and 666,598, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in second place with 33,316,755 cases.
UK records another 30,597 Covid-19 cases
Another 30,597 people in the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 7,312,683, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The country also recorded another 201 coronavirus-related deaths.
The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 134,647. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.
The latest data came as modelling prepared for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), a British government advisory body, showed that there is still "the potential for another large wave of hospitalizations" after the return of schools and more people going back to their workplaces.
"While the relationship between cases and hospitalizations has changed due to vaccination, increasing cases remain the earliest warning sign that hospital admissions are likely to rise," the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling Operational sub-group (Spi-M-O) said.
University modelling provided to Spi-M-O showed that the hospital admissions in the next few months could skyrocket to more than 7000 per day.
The British government on Tuesday released a COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan, outlining the possible measures and restrictions the country may see towards the end of this year.
According to the plan unveiled by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there is "significant uncertainty" about what will happen later this year and there is a "plausible" risk of cases rising to an extent that would place the National Health Service (NHS) under "unsustainable pressure".
The government's Plan A consists of a booster jabs campaign which will begin next week, and guidance that people meet outdoors or open windows if inside. "Plan B" could include vaccine passports, compulsory masks and working from home guidance.
Johnson said "Plan B" would aim to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. The total number of people in hospital with coronavirus in the country currently stands at 8,340. It has been over 8,000 for eight of the past nine days.
More than 89 percent of people aged 16 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 81 percent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
Iran reports 19,731 new Covid-19 cases
The Iranian Health Ministry reported 19,731 new Covid-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 5,360,387.
According to a briefing published on Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education's website on Wednesday, the pandemic has claimed 115,619 lives in the country so far, after 452 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported.
A total of 4,654,558 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 7,054 remain in intensive care units, the ministry said on its official website.
By Wednesday, 26,139,133 people have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine in the country, while 13,075,601 have taken two doses.
The official report added that 30,557,737 tests have so far been carried out across the country. Iran has been facing a resurgence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus for nearly three months. The first case of Covid-19 in the country was reported by Iranian health authorities in February 2020.
Other countries
The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (21,034,610), the UK (7,346,826), Russia (7,091,368), France (7,007,819), Turkey (6,738,860), Iran (5,360,387), Argentina (5,232,358), Colombia (4,934,568), Spain (4,922,249), Italy (4,618,040), Indonesia (4,178,164), Germany (4,115,342) and Mexico (3,528,972), the CSSE figures showed.
In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 588,597 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are India (443,497), Mexico (269,016), Peru (198,840), Russia (191,566), Indonesia (139,415), the UK (134,975), Italy (130,100), Colombia (125,753), France (116,470), Iran (115,619) and Argentina (113,969).
