LONDON — As many as 98.9 million (98,938,849) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2,121,322 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 71,100,956 cases of global recoveries.

Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 98 million confirmed cases in 218 countries and more than 2.12 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 recorded Friday 188,952 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the confirmed cases nation-wide crossed 24 million. It also recorded 3,955 virus-related deaths according to Johns Hopkins University.

The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 24,627,882 and at least 410,105 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world’s worst hit by the pandemic.

Furthermore there were a record 119,927 people currently 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 10.6 and 8.7 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.

In London, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 1,401 to 95,981, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Friday. As many as 40,261 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country’s overall count to 3,583,000, according to the department’s daily update.

On Thursday, the British government declared that flights to and from Latin America's countries and Portugal are banned as of Friday because of fears of the spread of new mutated strains of the coronavirus that appeared in Brazil.

The ban suspends flights to and from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Banana, Paraguay, Peru and others. As of next Monday, all passengers to Britain must have a document valid up to 72 hours free of coronavirus.

In Moscow, Russia reported 20,921 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,698,273 after it crossed the 3.6 million mark. Russia's coronavirus crisis center said 559 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 68,971.

They added 27,779 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 3,109,315. 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 Saturday 879 deaths and 16,417 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country’s death toll increased to 51,521 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 2,122,679.

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 Health Ministry reported 23,292 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Friday. France's cumulative total of cases now stands at 3,011,257. The COVID-19 death toll was up by 429 at 72,647. France announced its approval of the use of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and to include it in its vaccine program.

In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Saturday increased to 689,271 with 2,444 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 55 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 20,675.

In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday reported new 400 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 42,885 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 2,456,675 and the death toll to 55,441 since the outbreak of the pandemic.

In Amsterdam, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Saturday reported that 5,487 new coronavirus cases were reported in the Netherlands raising the total number of infections to 944,330. Also around 89 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total deaths from COVID-19 to 13,518, said the institute.

In Beijing, China Saturday reported 107 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, but did not register any virus-related deaths. The National Health Commission said total registered infections rose to 88,911 and fatalities remained at 4,635. It added 31 people have recovered from the virus and left hospitals in the past 24 hours to reach a total of 82,526. There are still 1,750 patients receiving treatment.

In New Delhi, India said on Saturday that 152 people died due to COVID-19 while 14,256 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that fatalities due to COVID-19 rose to 153,184 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,639,684.

According to the ministry, 10,300,838 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 Seoul, South Korea reported 346 new coronavirus cases Friday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload at 74,262, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The government extended the current level 2.5 distancing measures in the capital area and Level 2 restrictions in the rest of the country until Jan. 17. South Korea is grappling to contain yet another wave of virus infections with the toughest social distancing rules banning gatherings of five or more people.

In Brasilia, Brazil on Friday reported 56,552 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 8,753,920, Reuters cited the country's Health Ministry as saying.

Deaths rose by 1,096 to 215,243.

In Latin America, Brazil has more than 8.7 million confirmed cases and the world's second highest death toll. The country is currently seeing a second surge in infections. 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 three million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. Concern is growing about a South African variant of the disease which is thought to share some similarities with the new UK strain, including being more easily transmissible.

South Africa, with more than 1.2 million cases and more than 30,000 deaths, is the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria are the other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. Kenya is the only other country with close to 100,000 cases.

In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Friday that 748 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 52 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 160,463 infections and 8,853 deaths the ministry said. Another 432 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 125,603.

In Tunis, Tunisia’s Ministry of Health on Friday announced 103 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 2,389 more infections in 24 hours. The tally of confirmed deaths and infections rose to 6,092 and 193,273 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 140,180.

Meanwhile, Mauritania reported, during the past 24 hours, 56 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) as well as 3 deaths. In a statement, the Mauritanian Health Ministry said that the total number of infections reached 16,322, while the death toll in the country reached 413. — Agencies