Global Covid cases top 28.3 mn, death toll rises above 913,000
Washington: The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 28.3 million, while the deaths have increased to over 913,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Saturday morning, the total number of cases stood at 28,331,121 and the fatalities rose to 913,015, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US accounted for the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 6,443,048 and 192,968 respectively, according to the CSSE.
India is currently in the second place in terms of cases at 4,562,414, while the country's death toll stood at 76,271.
In terms of cases, Brazil ranks third (4,238,446), and is followed by Russia (1,048,257), Peru (710,067), Colombia (694,664), Mexico (658,299), South Africa (646,398), Spain (566,326), Argentina (535,705), Chile (430,535), France (401,890), Iran (397,801), the UK (364,085), Bangladesh (334,762), Saudi Arabia (324,407), Pakistan (300,371), Turkey (288,126), Italy (284,796), Iraq (282,672), Germany (259,735), Philippines (252,964), Indonesia (210,940), Ukraine (152,373), Israel (148,564), Canada (137,676), Bolivia (125,172), Qatar (121,287), Ecuador (114,732), Kazakhstan (106,729), Dominican Republic (102,232), Romania (101,075), Egypt (100,708) and Panama (100,330), the CSSE figures showed.
The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the Brazil (129,522), Mexico (70,183), the UK (41,703), Italy (35,597), France (30,901), Peru (30,344), Spain (29,747), Iran (22,913), Colombia (22,275), Russia (18,309), South Africa (15,378), Chile (11,850), Argentina (11,148) and Ecuador (10,836).
Meanwhile, a new ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects up to 217,000 Covid-19 deaths in America by October 3.
The forecast released on Friday predicted that 3,300 to 8,000 new Covid-19 deaths will likely be recorded during the week ending on October 3, and a total of 205,000 to 217,000 fatalities will be registered by that date, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The state- and territory-level ensemble forecasts predict that over the next four weeks, the number of newly reported deaths per week may increase in 1 jurisdiction and decrease in 10 jurisdictions," said the forcast.
The US continues to be the worst-hit country in the world by the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Saturday, the number of cases increased to 6,443,048, while the death toll stood at 192,968 , according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Moreover, Police forces across the UK on Saturday urged the public to exercise restraint and stay away from large gatherings ahead of the new rule of six lockdown rules that will officially come into force from Monday, amid a spike in coronavirus infections across the country.
The chairman of the organisation representing police officers across England and Wales asked people to resist any temptation for a weekend of gatherings ahead of the stricter rules restricting indoor and outdoor gatherings to just six at a time, the breach of which comes with a GBP 100 fine.
"There is a real risk some members of the public will take advantage of the current situation and treat this weekend as a party weekend ahead of the tighter restrictions being introduced on Monday," said John Apter, of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
In a series of tougher localised lockdowns, new measures banning people from mixing in homes and gardens will be imposed on Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell from Tuesday as the R number or the rate of infection crossed the crucial mark of one for the first time since the lockdown was gradually eased from June.
The reinforcement of the nationwide rule of six for social gatherings sends a clear signal to us all the whole country must continue to stay vigilant and practise social distancing to beat this virus, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
After seeing cases in the West Midlands continue to rise, the decision has been taken in collaboration with local leaders to ban households mixing in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull. "We never take these decisions lightly but social gatherings can spread the virus quickly, and we need residents to abide by the new rules to break the chains of transmission, he said.
