LONDON — As many as 71.5 million (71,560,080) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,603,966 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 49,780,678 cases of global recoveries. The number of people worldwide who have been infected with the novel coronavirus has topped 70 million, showed data compiled by US researchers. Nearly 1.6 million people worldwide have died as a result of complications with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University posted on Friday night. The true number of cases is likely to be higher, due to the existence of undetected cases. In the United States, which has the highest number of deaths and cases of any country, nearly 300,000 people have died, and more than 15.7 million people have contracted the disease, the data shows. India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 9.8 and 6.8 million cases respectively. Infections have been reported in more than 218 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. In New Delhi, India said on Saturday that 442 people died due to COVID-19 while 30,006 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 9,826,775, data from the Health Ministry showed on Saturday. Deaths due to COVID-19 touted to 142,628. According to the ministry, 9,324,328 people recuperated from the pandemic as it spread to 35 states. India has the world"s second-highest caseload, but daily infections have dipped steadily since hitting a peak in September. In Moscow, Russia recorded on Saturday 560 additional coronavirus deaths and 28,137 new infections in a span of 24 hours. Overall infections increased to 2,625,848 cases, while the death toll surged to 46,453 fatalities, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said. The total number of healed cases increased to 2,085,958 after adding 26,118 fresh recoveries. Tougher lockdown measures are being considered across Germany as the country"s latest figures of COVID-19 cases and deaths reached yet new record highs on Friday. The number of confirmed cases rose by 29,875 across the country"s 16 states, the Robert Koch Institute said, beating by some 200 infections the previous record established just the day before. The death toll has meanwhile risen to 20,970 after a one-day jump of 598 — eight fatalities more than the previous daily record set on Wednesday. Germany responded to the second wave of the deadly pandemic by shutting hospitality businesses as well as leisure and sports facilities. Schools and non-essential shops have, however, remained open. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Saturday increased to 603,159 with 2,762 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. Up to 100 more deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 17,792. In London, the tally of confirmed coronavirus-induced fatalities across the UK grew by 424 to 63,506, heath authorities said on Friday. Some 21,672 more COVID-19 cases were also registered in the country over the last 24 hours, pushing the overall count to over 1.809 million, said the Department of Health. In Latin America, Brazil has more than 6.8 million confirmed cases and the world"s second highest death toll. There are concerns the country is now facing a second wave of infections. Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have also recorded more than one million cases. Peru is also approaching that milestone, although daily cases are falling. South Africa, with about 800,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths, is still the worst affected country on the continent. Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tunisia are the only other African countries to officially record more than 100,000 cases. In Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said on Friday that 464 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 23 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 120,611 infections and 6,877 deaths the ministry said. Another 218 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 104,499. In Khartoum, Sudan recorded on Saturday 21 deaths due to COVID-19 and 376 new infections during the past 24 hours. The total number of registered positive cases rose to 20,844 cases, while the death toll hit 1,340 as total of 11,855 people healed, the Ministry of Health said. In Tunis the Tunisia’s Ministry of Health said on Friday that 1,290 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus bringing the country’s caseload to 109,104. Forty-three more fatalities were registered over the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 3,801 deaths. Meanwhile the overall recoveries went up to 83,162. Meanwhile, Mauritania’s Ministry of Health said Tuesday that 233 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus bringing the country’s caseload to 10,501. Five more fatalities, registered over the past 24 hours, pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 215. Thirty-nine more coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the total recoveries to 7,996. — Agencies