Global Covid cases top 519 million

The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 519 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 519,340,631 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,257,771 Thursday morning.

The US has recorded 82,227,294 cases so far and 998,739 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.

India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,110,586 on Wednesday, with 2,897 new cases registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's data.

Of the new cases, 1,118 were reported in Delhi. Currently, there are 5,471 active cases in Indian capital.

Besides, 54 deaths across the country due to the pandemic recorded since Tuesday morning took the total death toll to 524,157.

North Korea announced its first coronavirus infection more than two years into the pandemic Thursday as leader Kim Jong Un called for raising preventive measures to maximum levels, reports AP.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said tests from an unspecified number of people with fevers in the capital Pyongyang confirmed they were infected with the Omicron variant. North Korea had previously claimed a perfect record in keeping out Covid-19, a claim widely doubted by outside experts.

The country’s population of 26 million is believed to be mostly unvaccinated, after its government shunned vaccines offered by the UN-backed COVAX distribution programme, possibly because those have international monitoring requirements.

- UNB