India, S. Korea add 6K new cases each in 24 hrs; Global caseload tops 278 mn

While the US remains on top for the worst-hit countries in terms of Covid, India remains second with 34,765,976 infections and 478,759 deaths

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 278 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.38 million and vaccinations to over 8.86 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, has reported 5,790 new Covid-19 cases, breaking a record for the highest number of single-day infections registered in a day.

In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 278,101,403 and 5,385,862, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 8,861,081,345.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 51,814,125 and 815,343, according to the CSSE.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,765,976 infections and 478,759 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,230,943 infections and 618,492 deaths).

India registered 6,650 new Covid cases and 374 deaths in 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family welfare on Friday morning. The tally of Omicron cases in the country rose to 358.

S. Korea reports 6,919 more cases

South Korea reported 6,919 more cases of the Covid-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 589,978.

The daily caseload was down from 7,456 in the previous day as the government tightened anti-virus measures. The recent resurgence was attributable to small cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area, reports said.

The other countries with over 5 million cases are the UK (11,836,768), Russia (10,140,429), Turkey (9,249,576), France (8,994,106), Germany (6,954,634), Iran (6,179,817), Spain (5,718,007), Italy (5,517,054), Argentina (5,428,957) and Colombia (5,115,194), the CSSE figures showed.

The nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Mexico (298,359), Russia (295,296), Peru (202,375), the UK (148,185), Indonesia (144,042), Italy (136,245), Iran (131,262), Colombia (129,640), France (123,280), Argentina (116,979) and Germany (109,877).