Global Covid caseload tops 281.3 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 281.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.40 million and vaccinations to over 8.97 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 281,368,071 and 5,406,197, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 8,972,162,735.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 52,785,766 and 818,370, according to the CSSE.

The second worst hit country in terms of cases is India (34,793,333 infections and 479,997 deaths), followed by Brazil (22,249,466 infections and 618,815 deaths).

The other countries with over 5 million cases are the UK (12,277,814), Russia (10,236,301), Turkey (9,335,193), France (9,251,021), Germany (7,028,398), Iran (6,186,729), Spain (5,932,626), Italy (5,678,112), Argentina (5,480,305) and Colombia (5,127,971), the CSSE figures showed.

The nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are Russia (299,077), Mexico (298,777), Peru (202,524), the UK (148,470), Indonesia (144,063), Italy (136,753), Iran (131,434), Colombia (129,798), France (123,883), Argentina (117,066) and Germany (110,542).