The current global caseload stands at 71,649,876 with 1,604,516 deaths as of this morning.

The US is the worst-hit country with the highest number of cases and deaths at 16,057,436 and 297,789, respectively, according to the JHU data.

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California reported the most cases among US states, standing at 1,535,962. Texas registered 1,395,889 cases, followed by Florida with 1,116,973 cases. Illinois recorded 841,688 cases and New York identified 764,966 cases, reports Xinhua.

Other states with over 420,000 cases include Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee and North Carolina, the CSSE data showed.

By far, the US remains the nation worst-hit by the pandemic, with the world's most cases and deaths, making up more than 22 percent of the global caseload.

Read Also: Death toll from Covid-19 crosses 7000 in Bangladesh, new cases 1,329

US COVID-19 cases hit 10 million on Nov 9, and increased by 5 million within a month. It took only four days for the case count to jump from 15 million to 16 million.

Record numbers of cases, deaths as well as hospitalisations have been repeatedly seen across the states in December.

Meanwhile, states in the US will start receiving the first batch of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine from Monday morning, US officials said Saturday, after the government gave the final nod to the shots required to end the outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans.

Read Also: Global Covid-19 cases hit 68.8 million

India comes in second place in terms of cases with 9,826,775, including 142,628 fatalities.

Besides, Brazil's Covid-19 death toll rose to 181,123 on Saturday after 686 more deaths were reported, the country’s health ministry said.

According to the ministry, tests also detected 43,900 new cases in the past day, raising the national count to 6,880,127.

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Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state, is also the hardest-hit by the virus in the country, with 1,333,763 cases and 43,971 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 388,431 cases and 23,718 deaths, the ministry said.

Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, next to the US and India.

Amid the global concern over the second wave of Covid-19 infections, the health authorities in Bangladesh on Saturday reported 34 more deaths in 24 hours, raising the death toll to 7,020.

Besides, 1,329 new cases were reported during the period, pushing the tally to 489,178.

Meanwhile, the developers of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine said it is 96 percent effective and is likely to offer two-year-long protection against the novel coronavirus.

Registered by Russia on August 11, Sputnik V became the world’s first coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

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