Global Coronavirus Caseload At 7.76 Million, Nearly 430K Dead

Cases of infection with the new coronavirus have surpassed 7.76 million across the world, and the death toll is inching close to the 430,000 mark, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Some 7,766,625 people have been infected and 429,732 others have lost their lives worldwide since the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in China late last year.

Out of the global caseload, some 3,698,227 people have recovered.

The largest numbers of confirmed cases are reported in the United States, Brazil, and Russia. The highest numbers of fatalities have been registered in the US, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

Europe has been witnessing a rise in the number of people contracting the virus over the past couple of weeks, as lockdown measures have been relaxed in most of the countries across the continent.

Latin America, regarded as the new epicenter of the virus, has Brazil and Peru at the top of its list of countries with the highest cases.

The following is the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from around the globe:

Germany’s confirmed cases pass 186,000

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 247 to 186,269, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases on Sunday.

The reported death toll increased by six to 8,787.

Brazil’s new cases keep soaring

Brazil has registered 850,514 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, and its total death toll reached 42,720, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

Brazil reported 21,704 new cases over the last 24 hours and 892 fatalities.

The mounting toll in Brazil comes as the country has plans to ease quarantine restrictions and reopen businesses amid pressure from President Jair Bolsonaro and his followers.

Far-right Bolsonaro has accused state governments of exaggerating the number of infections and deaths to undermine his presidency, playing down the gravity of the crisis and dismissing COVID-19 as “a little flu.”

Mexico reports some 3,500 new cases

Mexico’s Health Ministry on Saturday reported 3,494 new infections as well as 424 deaths, bringing the totals in the Latin American country to 142,690 cases and 16,872 fatalities.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely higher than the official count.

Chile’s health minister resigns in toll scandal

Chile has the highest number of confirmed cases per million people in Latin America, reporting a total of 167,355 cases and 3,101 fatalities as of Saturday.

Also on Saturday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced the resignation of Health Minister Jaime Manalich following a controversy over the official coronavirus death toll in the country.

While the Chilean government has said publicly that the disease has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people since the first case emerged in the country on March 3, a report revealed on Saturday that Chile had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of a death toll of more than 5,000.

Ciper, a Chilean investigative website, reported that the Health Ministry had told the WHO that as many as 5,000 deaths in the country were linked to the coronavirus.

Nearly half of Chile’s population of 18 million is now on a strict lockdown.