Global Covid-19 caseload tops 284.4 mn, deaths surge over 5.42 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 284.4 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.42 million and vaccinations to over 9.07 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 284,471,377 and 5,421,557, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,071,229,297.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 53,659,688 and 822,892, according to the CSSE.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,808,886 infections and 480,592 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,269,031 infections and 619,095 deaths).

The other countries with over 5 million cases are the UK (12,628,071), Russia (10,279,009), France (9,639,037), Turkey (9,367,369), Germany (7,101,226), Iran (6,190,762), Spain (6,133,057), Italy (5,854,428), Argentina (5,556,239) and Colombia (5,138,603), the CSSE figures showed.

The nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Russia (300,886), Mexico (298,944), Peru (202,524), the UK (148,556), Indonesia (144,081), Italy (137,091), Iran (131,527), Colombia (129,866), France (124,358), Argentina (117,111) and Germany (111,366).