LONDON — As many as 77.8 million (77,816,416) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,711,479 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 54,705,319 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 77 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.7 million deaths. The virus is surging in many regions and countries that had apparent success in suppressing initial outbreaks are also seeing infections rise again. The US recorded of almost 189,099 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and 1,509 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The tally showed that the confirmed cases nationwide reached 17,844,690 cases and at least 317,668 deaths, the highest figures in the world. Furthermore 113,663 people are currently hospitalized for coronavirus in the US, according to COVID Tracking Project. The US ranks first globally in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Meanwhile the US Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) indicated that 2,838,225 coronavirus vaccine doses have been distributed and 556,208 doses of the vaccine have been administered. India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10 and 7 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. Daily cases have now fallen in many European countries after steep rises in October. Lockdowns and other restrictions were reintroduced in some of the worst-affected regions to help bring numbers down. In London, Britain said that the death toll from coronavirus has risen by 215 to 67,616, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Monday. As many as 33,364 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country’s overall count to nearly 2,073,000, according to the department’s daily update. Russia on Tuesday confirmed 28,776 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours pushing the national tally to 2.9 million. Authorities said 561 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 51,912. The coronavirus operations centre said 24,158 people recovered in the past 24 hours to reach 2,319,520. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Russia on Jan. 31, 2020 when two Chinese citizens in Tyumen (Siberia) and Chita (Russia Far east) tested positive for the virus. In Berlin, German health authorities reported on Monday 731 deaths and 19,528 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country’s death toll increased to 27,006 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,530,180. 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 Rome, Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 69,214 on Monday after 415 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 10,872 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world’s worst-affected countries to 1,964,054, according to government figures. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Tuesday increased to 626,911 with 981 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 71 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 18,697. In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Monday reported new 334 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 22,013 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 1,819,249 and the death toll to 49,260 since the outbreak of the pandemic. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Tuesday that they recorded 1,853 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 339,526. More that 309,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 5,540, said the country’s Health Ministry. In New Delhi, India said on Tuesday that 301 people died due to COVID-19 while 19,556 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours, its lowest daily increase since July 3, taking its total to 10,075,116, data from the Health Ministry showed. Deaths due to COVID-19 totaled 146,111. According to the ministry, 9,636,487 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 Tokyo, Japan reported on Tuesday 2,361 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation’s total number 202,217, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country’s cumulative death toll rose by 49 and stood at 2,980. Tokyo added 563 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 52,382. In response to a sharp increase in new infections across the country, the government plans to suspend its domestic travel subsidy campaign from Dec. 28 to Jan. 11. In Seoul, South Korea added 869 nw coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the country’s total caseload to 51,460, according to Yonhap news agency. The daily death toll hit a record high of 24, raising the total to 722, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Of the newly identified local infections, 309 cases were reported in Seoul and 193 cases in Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital. Prime minister Chung Sye-Kyun said Tuesday that the government would ban private gatherings of five or more people nationwide during the upcoming holiday season to curb the spread of coronavirus. Meanwhile, Some 7.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus in Brazil the country"s Health Ministry said. On Saturday, Latin America"s largest country recorded 50,177 new infections, bringing the new total to 7,213,155, and 706 new deaths in the past 24 hours. Until now, 186,356 people have died in Brazil in connection to the virus. Brazil ranks third in terms of infection numbers globally, behind the United States and India. On fatalities, Brazil ranks second behind the US. Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have also recorded more than one million cases and all three countries are still seeing very high numbers of daily confirmed cases. Peru is also approaching the milestone of one million cases, although daily cases are falling. The country has one of the highest deaths rates in the world. Africa has recorded more than 2.5 million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 900,000 cases and nearly 24,000 deaths, is 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 Monday that 718 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 32 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 126,273 infections and 7,130 deaths the ministry said. Another 345 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 107,162. In Tunis, Tunisia’s Ministry of Health on Monday announced 41 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,031 more infections in 24 hours. The tally confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,199 and 121,718 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, Mauritania’s Ministry of Health said Saturday that 232 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s caseload to 12,278. Nine more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 232. The report said, 119 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 8,545 cases. — Agencies