Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. The WHO declared it a pandemic in March.
Since December, 17,600,740 cases have been reported from around the world, according to the Johns Hopinks University. The death tally stands at 679,600.
Mexico’s coronavirus death toll is now the third highest in the world behind the United States and Brazil, reports AP.
Mexican health officials on Friday reported 688 new deaths, pushing the country’s total to 46,688. That put Mexico just ahead of the UK, which has 46,119, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Bangladesh recorded 2,199 new cases on Friday with 21 deaths. The country’s caseload now stands at 239860 and the death toll at 3,132.
Vietnam, a former success story, is struggling to control an outbreak spreading in its most famous beach resort. In Vietnam, a third person died of coronavirus complications, officials said Saturday, a day after it recorded its first-ever death. The country is struggling with a renewed outbreak after 99 days with no local cases.
Meanwhile, China has reported a more than 50 percent drop in newly confirmed cases in a possible sign that its latest major outbreak in the northwestern region of Xinjiang may have run its course.
In Hong Kong, infections continue to surge, with more than 100 new cases reported as of Saturday among the population of 7.5 million. Officials have reimposed dining restrictions and mask requirements.
South Korean prosecutors arrested the elderly leader of a secretive religious sect that has been linked to more than 5,200 of the country’s 14,336 confirmed cases.
India recorded its steepest spike of 57,118 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking its coronavirus caseload close to 1.7 million, with July alone accounting for nearly 1.1 million infections.
Hajj affected
The global pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of this year’s Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, with as few as 1,000 pilgrims already residing in Saudi Arabia taking part, down from 2.5 million last year.
The Saudi Health Ministry said there have been no cases of COVID-19 among this year’s pilgrims. All were tested, their movements monitored with electronic wristbands and required to be quarantined before and after.
On Friday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “Most of the world’s people remain susceptible to this virus, even in areas that have experienced severe outbreaks.
“Although vaccine development is happening at record speed, we must learn to live with this virus and we must fight it with the tools that we have.”