LONDON — As many as 81.2 million (81,236,754) people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,774,024 have died, according to a worldodometer tally. It reported that there have been 57,397,375 cases of global recoveries. Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the world with over 81 million confirmed cases in 190 countries and more than 1.77 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. In the US, Johns Hopkins University on Sunday confirmed 19,031,403 cases nationwide and at least 332,502 deaths across US, with the country remaining the world’s worst hit by the pandemic. December has been the deadliest month since the start of the pandemic “with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days,” according to CNN. Earlier, Sunday, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told ABC, “We’re very concerned. We always see a little bit of bump after the holidays, and sometimes large bump.” For his part Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said: “We very well might see a post-seasonal, in the sense of Christmas, New Year’s, surge, and, as I described it, as a surge upon surge, because, if you look at the slope, the incline of cases that we have experienced as we have gone into the late fall and soon-to-be-early winter, it is quite troubling.” India and Brazil have the second and third highest case tallies, recording some 10 and 7.5 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 316 to 69,811, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Sunday. As many as 30,501 more lab-confirmed cases raised the country’s overall count to nearly 2,288,000, according to the department’s daily update. In Moscow, Russia reported 27,787 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 3,078,035 after it crossed the 3 million mark. Russia"s coronavirus crisis center said 487 coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours and the overall national coronavirus death toll was at 55,265. They added 20,480 people recovered from the virus, raising the total number of recoveries to 2,471,309. 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 348 deaths and 10,976 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said the country’s death toll increased to 30,126 cases and the total confirmed cases those to 1,651,834. 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 Paris, French health authorities reported 8,822 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Sunday, raising the country’s caseload to 2,559,686. The ministry said the virus-induced deaths increased by 173 to 62,746. Earlier, the French government said it was weighing the viability of imposing a third nationwide lockdown to curb the outbreak of the pandemic. France launched its vaccination campaign on Sunday along with most other EU countries. In Rome, Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak hit 71,925 on Sunday after 305 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed. Some 8,913 new cases were logged in the same period to raise the total in one of the world’s worst-affected countries to 2,047,696, according to government figures. In Brussels, total infections of coronavirus cases in Belgium on Monday increased to 638,877 with 847 new infections reported by Belgian health authorities. They reported 42 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours raising the total death toll to 19,200. In Madrid, the Spanish Health Ministry on Monday reported new 126 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 12,662 more infections in the last 24 hours. The caseload has now surged to 1,854,951 and the death toll to 49,824 since the outbreak of the pandemic. It reported fur new cases of the coronavirus variant that recently emerged in the UK, to reach nine sad the Spanish TV. In Vienna, Austrian authorities announced Monday that they recorded 1,592 new coronavirus cases raising the total number of confirmed infections to 353,484. More that 323,000 cases have recovered since the start of the pandemic, deaths have reached 5,931, said the country’s Health Ministry. In New Delhi, India said on Monday that 279 people died due to COVID-19 while 20,021 new cases of the coronavirus were registered in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that fatalities due to COVID-19 rose to 147,901 as the total number of positive cases mounted to 10,020,787. According to the ministry, 9,782,669 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 Monday 1,190 daily cases of novel coronavirus, raising the nation’s total number 222,571, the Health Ministry and local authorities said. The country’s cumulative death toll rose by 76 and stood at 3,289. Tokyo added 481 new infections, which brought the total cases in the Japanese capital to 57,040. In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus variants, the government on Monday suspended new entries of non-resident foreign nationals from around the world to Japan through Jan. 31. In Seoul, South Korea reported more than 808 daily new coronavirus cases Monday, Yonhap reported in the past 24 hours, putting the total caseload at 57,680, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Eleven people died in the past 24 hours raising the death toll to 819. Of the newly identified local infections, 297 cases were reported in Seoul and 188 cases in Gyenoggi Province that surrounds the capital. On Sunday, the government extended the current Level 2.5 distancing measures in the capital area and Level 2 restrictions in the rest of the country until January 3. South Korea is grappling to contain yet another wave of virus infections with the toughest social distancing rules banning gatherings of five or more people. The government has urged citizens to strictly comply with the distancing rules, warning that any violations will face a fine of up to 3 million won ($2,700). In Rio De Janeiro, Hamilton Mourão, Brazil"s Vice President, tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said on Sunday, when the country registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths. Mourão, President Jair Bolsonaro"s deputy, is the latest in a long line of senior Brazilian officials to contract the virus. Separately, Brazil"s Health Ministry on Sunday reported that Brazil registered 344 new COVID-19 deaths, and 18,479 fresh coronavirus cases. Brazil now has nearly 7.5 million confirmed cases, and a total of 191,139 deaths from the virus since the outbreak began. 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 two and half million cases, but the true extent of the pandemic there is not known as testing rates are low. South Africa, with more than 800,000 cases and nearly 23,000 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 Saturday that 1,226 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 53 patients died over the past 24 hours. The figures took the country’s tally to 132,541 infections and 7,405 deaths the ministry said. Another 553 patients have been discharged from the hospitals, bringing the overall recoveries to 110,015. In Tunis, Tunisia’s Ministry of Health on Sunday announced 40 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 1,362 more infections in 24 hours. The tally confirmed deaths and infections rose to 4,466 and 131,592 respectively since the outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, overall recoveries went up to 100,207. Meanwhile, Mauritania’s Ministry of Health said Sunday that 126 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the country’s caseload to 13,642. Three more fatalities in the last 24 hours pushed the death toll from the viral illness to 324. The report said, 232 patients have been discharged from hospitals, raising the overall recoveries to 10,297 cases. — Agencies