Global Covid cases exceed 493 million

The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 493 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 493,604,859 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,158,583 Wednesday morning.

The US has recorded 80,208,810 cases so far and 982,576 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.

The prevalence of Covid-19 in the UK has reached record levels, with about one in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain’s official statistics agency, reports AP.

Some 4.9 million people were estimated to have the coronavirus in the week ending March 26, up from 4.3 million recorded in the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.The latest surge is driven by the more transmissible Omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the UK.

India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,029,839 on Tuesday, as 795 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.

Besides, 58 deaths were recorded since Monday morning, taking the Covid death toll in the country to 521,416.

Meanwhile, Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January last year, registered 30,042,272 infections as of Wednesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 660,786.