Global Coronavirus cases surpass 124.6 million

Washington DC: The overall number of global COVID-19 cases has surpassed 124.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.74 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 124,688,146 and 2,742,974, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 30,009,386 and 545,237, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil follows in the second place with 12,220,011 cases and 300,685 fatalities. The other countries with more than 2 million confirmed Coronavirus cases are India (11,734,058), Russia (4,433,364), France (4,374,770), the UK (4,326,645), Italy (3,440,862), Spain (3,234,319), Turkey (3,091,282), Germany (2,709,872), Colombia (2,353,210), Argentina (2,269,877), Mexico (2,203,041) and Poland (2,120,671), the CSSE figures showed.

Meanwhile, mere miles from Brazil's presidential palace, the bodies of COVID-19 victims were laid on floors of hospitals whose morgues were overflowing. Lawmakers fielded calls from panicked constituents across the country, where thousands awaited intensive care beds, and they had no effective health minister to turn to Sunday. Meanwhile, a smiling President Jair Bolsonaro met hundreds of supporters to pass out pieces of green-and-yellow cake in celebration of his 66th birthday. The mood was jubilant even as the country approached a bleak Coronavirus milestone.

Brazil was in political disarray as it surpassed 300,000 deaths from the virus Wednesday evening.