The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 372 million amid a surge in Omicron infections across the globe.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 372,116,742 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,656,941 Saturday morning.

The US has recorded 74,213,736 cases so far and 883,864 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.

Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across the country, is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall’s Delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks, reports AP.

Omicron is estimated to account for nearly all the virus circulating in the nation. And even though it causes less severe disease for most people, the fact that it is more transmissible means more people are falling ill and dying.

India's Covid-19 tally rose to 40,858,241 on Saturday with 235,532 new confirmed cases registered in 24 hours, as per the health ministry's latest data.

Besides, 871 deaths reported due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 493,198.    

Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 25,256,198 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 626,870.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported 21 more Covid-linked deaths with 10,378 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.

The daily positivity rate dropped to 31.10 per cent from highest-ever 33.37 per cent recorded on Friday after testing 33,373 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The country logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 32.55% on July 24 last year reporting 6,780 cases and 195 deaths.

On Friday, Bangladesh reported 20 Covid-linked deaths with 15,440 fresh cases.

The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,329 while the caseload mounted to 1,731,149.

Among the new deceased, 14 were men and seven women.

Twelve deaths were reported in Dhaka division while two each in Chattogram, Khulna, Rangpur and one each in Rajshahi, Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.60 per cent.

However, the recovery rate also declined to 88.18 per cent with the recovery of 1,109 more patients during the 24-hour period.

Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till Sunday, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data.

On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.

The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.

Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.

KF