LONDON — As many as 76.7 million (76,712,022) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,693,749 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 53,833,419 cases of global recoveries.

Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 76 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.6 million deaths. The virus is surging in many regions and countries that had apparent success in suppressing initial outbreaks are also seeing infections rise again.

The US set a new record of almost 250,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The US recorded 249,709 new coronavirus cases and 2,814 virus-related deaths on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 17,459,296 cases and at least 313,5882 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Furthermore 114,752 people were hospitalized for coronavirus in the US, according to COVID Tracking Project. The US ranks first globally in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10 and 7 million cases respectively. Infections have been reported in more than 218 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Daily cases have now fallen in many European countries after steep rises in October. Lockdowns and other restrictions were reintroduced in some of the worst-affected regions to help bring numbers down.

Russia on Sunday confirmed 28,848 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours pushing the national tally to 2,848,377. Authorities said 511 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 40,858. The coronavirus operations centre said 20,915 people recovered in the past 24 hours to reach 2,275,657.

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Russia on Jan. 31, 2020 when two Chinese citizens in Tyumen (Siberia) and Chita (Russia Far east) tested positive for the virus.

In Berlin, German health authorities reported on Sunday 409 deaths and 22,771 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country’s death toll increased to 26,049 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,494,009.

Germany responded to the second wave of the deadly pandemic by shutting hospitality businesses as well as leisure and sports facilities. Schools and non-essential shops have, however, remained open.

In Paris, the French Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 189 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 17,565 more infections. The caseload and death toll surged in the past 24 hours to 2,460,555 and 60,418 respectively, it noted.

In London, the tally of confirmed coronavirus-induced fatalities across the UK grew by 534 to 67,075, heath authorities said on Saturday. Some 27,052 more COVID-19 cases were also registered in the country over the last 24 hours, said the Department of Health and Social Care.

In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Sunday increased to 623,760 with 2,721 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. Up to 90 more deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 18,545.

In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Sunday that they recorded 1,654 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 336,167. More that 300,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have arched 5,351, said the country’s Health Ministry.

In New Delhi, India said on Sunday that 341 people died due to COVID-19 while 26,624 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 10,031,233, data from the Health Ministry showed. Deaths due to COVID-19 totaled 145,477.

According to the ministry, 9,580,402 people recuperated from the pandemic as it spread to 35 states. India has the world's second-highest caseload, but daily infections have dipped steadily since hitting a peak in September.

In Tokyo, Japan reported on Saturday 736 daily cases of novel coronavirus, the second-highest daily increase, bringing the monthly tally, already above the record cases logged last month, to 9,951, Kyodo reported.

Saturday's daily figure is the largest since the record 822 was confirmed on Thursday. Total cases in December so far have surpassed the 9,857 cases for the full month of November, with the cumulative figure at more than 50,000.

The Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday raised its alert regarding the strain on the medical system to the highest of four levels. It is the first time the most severe level has been reached since the outbreak of the virus. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has urged people to take increased anti-virus measures during the year-end and New Year holiday period.

Meanwhile, Some 7.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in Brazil the country's Health Ministry said. On Saturday, Latin America's largest country recorded 50,177 new infections, bringing the new total to 7,213,155, and 706 new deaths in the past 24 hours.

Until now, 186,356 people have died in Brazil in connection to the virus. Brazil ranks third in terms of infection numbers globally, behind the United States and India. On fatalities, Brazil ranks second behind the US.

Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have also recorded more than one million cases and all three countries are still seeing very high numbers of daily confirmed cases. Peru is also approaching the milestone of one million cases, although daily cases are falling. The country has one of the highest deaths rates in the world.

Africa has recorded more than two million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 800,000 cases and nearly 23,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent.

Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tunisia are the only other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases.

In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Saturday that 611 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 28 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 124,891 infections and 7,069 deaths the ministry said. Another 324 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 106,481.

In Tunis, Tunisia’s Ministry of Health on Saturday announced 36 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,569 more infections in 24 hours. The tally confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,126 and 119,151 respectively since the outbreak of the virus.

In Khartoum, Sudan registered on Sunday 202 new positive cases of coronavirus and nine new death cases in the past 24 hours. According to the Sudanese Health Ministry, the total number of positive cases increased to 22,823, fatalities to 1,443 deaths, while the total number of recoveries reached 13,171.

Meanwhile, Mauritania’s Ministry of Health said Saturday that 232 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s caseload to 12,278. Nine more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 232. The report said, 119 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 8,545 cases. — Agencies