The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 268 million amid the Omicron-driven surge. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 267,794,444 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,278,886 Thursday morning. The US has recorded 49,537,175 cases to date and more than 793,188 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data. New cases in the US climbed from an average of nearly 95,000 a day on November 22 to almost 119,000 a day this week, and hospitalisations are up 25% from a month ago. The increases are due almost entirely to the delta variant, though the Omicron mutation has been detected in about 20 states and is sure to spread even more, reports AP. Deaths are running close to 1,600 a day on average, back up to where they were in October. And the overall US death toll less than two years into the crisis could hit another heartbreaking milestone, 800,000, in a matter of days. Also read: 2 members of Bangladesh women cricket team test positive for Covid-19 Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, has registered 22,167,781 cases so far, while its Covid death toll rose to 616,251. India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,656,822 on Wednesday, as 8,439 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry. Besides, 195 deaths from the pandemic since Tuesday morning took the total death toll to 473,952. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh logged six more Covid-related deaths and 277 fresh cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning. With the latest cases, the daily case positivity rate declined to 1.35 percent from Tuesday’s 1.45 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Also read: COVID-19: India's 50 pc adults fully vaccinated, Centre targets 100 pc 1st dose coverage by December 31 With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 28,016 while the caseload mounted to 15,78,288. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 percent during the period. The fresh cases were detected after testing 20,644 samples, amid the growing concern over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.78 percent with the recovery of 296 more patients during the 24-hour period. On November 20, Bangladesh logged this year’s first zero Covid-linked death with 178 cases. Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year. So far, 3,96,58,932 people have fully been vaccinated in the country, while 6,56,18,894 received the first dose as of Tuesday, according to the directorate. Among them, 1,65,072 students, aged from 12-17, have fully been vaccinated, while 10,10,083 students received the first dose so far.

The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 248 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 248, 041,490 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,021, 129 on Thursday morning. The US has recorded 46,252, 631 cases to date and more than 750,410 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data. Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 21,835,785 cases as of Wednesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 608,235. Besides, daily coronavirus cases and deaths in Russia remained at their highest numbers of the pandemic Wednesday as more regions announced extending existing restrictions in an effort to tame the country’s unrelenting surge of infections, reports AP. Also read: FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 40,443 new confirmed cases from a day earlier. It was the fifth time in seven days that the country reported more than 40,000 infections. The task force also reported a daily record of 1,189 Covid-19 deaths. According to JHU data, Russia registered 8,494,589 cases as of Thursday, with 237,619 deaths. India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,308,140 on Wednesday, as 11,903 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, 311 more deaths were recorded since Tuesday morning, taking the death toll to 459,191. Also read: Dual disaster management during COVID-19 pandemic underscored    Situation in Bangladesh   As the vaccination drive continues, the Covid-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh largely remained static, with health authorities reporting the deaths of seven more people and infections of 256 in 24 hours till Wednesday morning. The daily case positivity rate increased to 1.31 percent from Tuesday’s 1.14 percent. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 percent. The fresh cases were detected after testing 19,523 samples, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Three of the deceased were men and two women. With the fresh numbers, the Covid-19 fatalities reached 27,880 while the caseload climbed to 1,570,238, according to DGHS. Also, the recovery rate climbed to 97.70 percent, with the recovery of 237 more patients during the period. Forty-five Covid-related deaths were reported in the country on the 43th epidemiological week of pandemic from October 25 to 31. Thirty-nine of them did not receive any Covid vaccine, while six were vaccinated. On March 18, 2020, Bangladesh logged its first Covid-19 related death. Vaccination drive in Bangladesh So far, 2,98,97,953 people have been fully vaccinated in the country, while 4,28,14,447 received the first dose as of Tuesday, according to DGHS. Meanwhile, the campaign to vaccinate school students in the age group of 12-17 years against Covid-19 began in Dhaka on Monday.

The world hit another grim Covid-19 milestone on Saturday, as the total caseload surpassed 130 million. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 130,126,796 while the death toll from the deadly virus climbed to 2,836,682 on Saturday morning. The US has so far logged 30,606,648 cases, with 554,069 fatalities. The North American country has been sowing the world's highest number of cases and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. In Brazil, a total of 12,910,082 people have so far been found infected with the virus. The death toll in the country stood at 328,206 as Saturday morning, as per the university data. In March alone, as many as 66,868 people died of Covid-19 in the Latin America's largest and most populous country. Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million Mexico is the third worst-hit country in the world in terms of deaths, as it has recorded 203,664 deaths as of Saturday morning. India’s total caseload and fatalities currently stand at 12,303,131 and 163,396, respectively, as per official figures. Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December 2019. To date, countries around the world have reported 130 million cases and 2.8 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. Several vaccines have been developed to fight the virus. Those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca are among them. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh Friday recorded more than 6,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day in the row, as the government ramps up efforts to contain the transmission of the virus. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports highest daily cases in 9 months It was the fourth time in five days that Bangladesh reported its highest daily coronavirus cases, when the health authorities confirmed 6,830 new infections on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, the number of new cases was 5,358. It was 5,042 on Tuesday and 5,181 on Monday. There is hardly any bed available at hospitals treating coronavirus patients. The government is increasing the number of beds and Covid-designated hospitals to deal with the situation. Bangladesh has so far recorded 624,594 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). During the 24-hour period until Friday morning, 2,473 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 547,411. Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later. Meanwhile, the fatalities reached 9,155 Friday, with 50 new deaths. The mortality rate now stands at 1.47 percent. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 6,000+ cases for 2nd straight day Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Govt strengthens protective steps The daily surge prompted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue an 18-point directive on March 29 to prevent the transmission of the virus. On the same day, the Health Ministry proposed strict measures like partial lockdowns for some places with higher Covid-19 transmission rates. Other recommendations made by the ministry include closure of amusement centres and picnic spots, ban on religious gatherings, limiting wedding ceremonies, strengthening quarantine systems, limiting passengers in public transport, and limiting attendance in offices. It also suggested strong enforcement of the ‘no mask, no service’ policy, increasing the number of mobile courts and slapping fines on health guideline violators. Authorities in various districts have shut down amusement centres and are urging people to wear masks. But a large number of people are still reluctant to follow Covid protocols, putting themselves as well as others around them at risk. Vaccination drive The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India. Bangladesh inked an agreement with Serum in December last year for acquiring 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.  

The global Covid caseload is fast approaching 122 million, despite high rates of vaccination.

The global Covid caseload hit another grim milestone on Saturday as it surpassed the 116 million mark.