Global COVID-19 cases surpass 271.9 mln as Omicron variant rages on

The cumulative number of global COVID-19 cases had exceeded 271.9 million with the death toll exceeding 5.33 million as of Friday, according to the latest data released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Specifically, there had been 271,963,258 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,331,019 deaths, Reuters reported.

As of December 15, a total of 8,337,664,456 vaccine doses had been administered across the world, according to the WHO.

The United States has remained the worst-hit nation by the pandemic with the world’s most cases and deaths.

The country’s case count rose to 50,676,170 Friday, with the death toll reaching 805,410, according to data released by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Data shows that the daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. averaged over 120,000 in the past week, with the daily death toll averaging a staggering figure of 1,286, up 8 percent compared with the previous week, Reuters reported.

The White House COVID-19 Response Team said on Friday the situation is likely to worsen due to the raging Omicron variant. Jeffrey Zients, the response team coordinator said that the unvaccinated are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for themselves, their families, and hospitals may soon be overwhelmed.

Besides, a large number of Americans are planning to travel during the approaching holiday, adding to the uncertainty of the situation.

Britain reported 93,045 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, breaking the daily record for the third consecutive day and bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 11,190,354, according to official figures released Friday.

Another 3,201 Omicron cases have been found in Britain, the biggest daily increase since the COVID-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total Omicron cases found in the country to 14,909, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Friday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Sky News that Omicron is a “very serious threat” and that the country is seeing a “very serious wave coming through”.

France reported on Friday 58,128 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number to 8,518,840, according to the French Public Health Agency.

The country’s COVID-19 death toll had risen to 121,312 as of Friday.

According to statistics, the number of cases per 100,000 population in France is 515.4, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic.

As of Friday, France had confirmed 310 Omicron cases.

Germany reported 50,968 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the country’s total cases to 6,721,375, said the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.

Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned Friday that Germany must assume it will be challenged by a massive fifth wave due to the Omicron variant.

Lauterbach said Germany is now at a “critical moment” in the fourth wave of the outbreak, and that the Omicron virus-related outbreak is expected to pose a huge challenge to German hospitals, intensive care units and society as a whole. Therefore, he believes that it is important to be prepared for the challenge and to conduct vaccination efforts as quickly and intensively as possible.

India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 34,733,194 on Saturday, as 7,145 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the Federal Health Ministry’slatest data.

Besides, 289 deaths due to the pandemic reported since Friday morning took the total death toll to 477,158.

There are still 84,565 active COVID-19 cases in the country, as there was a fall of 1,850 active cases during the past 24 hours.

A total of 34,171,471 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far, out of which 8,706 were discharged during the past 24 hours.

Twenty five new cases of the Omicron variant were logged in India Friday, the highest daily new cases since the country reporting the first Omicron cases.

India has now reported 113 cases of the Omicron variant in 11 districts.

The Indian Health Ministry has stressed the need to follow COVID-19 protocols, including using face masks, maintaining social distance and getting vaccination.