Global Covid cases top 479 million

The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 479 million as the pandemic enters into its third year.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 479,000,756 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,114,171 Saturday morning.

The US has recorded 79,936,777 cases so far and 976,505 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.

India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,018,032 on Saturday, as 1,660 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry data.

Besides, as many as 4,100 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Friday morning, taking the total death toll to 520,855.

This sudden rise in the number of deaths in the country was because "4,005 deaths were reconciled by Maharashtra", said a senior official at the federal health ministry.

Meanwhile, Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January last year, registered 29,809,769 cases as of Saturday, while its Covid death toll rose to 658,855.