Global COVID-19 cases near 17mn: Johns Hopkins

The total number of global coronavirus cases was nearing the 17 million mark, while the deaths have increased to more than 665,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Thursday morning, the overall number of cases stood at 16,957,763, while the fatalities rose to 665,486, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US accounted for the world's highest number of infections and fatalities at 4,424,806 and 150,676, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil came in the second place with 2,552,265 infections and 90,134 deaths.

In terms of cases, India ranks third (1,531,669), and is followed by Russia (827,509), South Africa (471,123), Mexico (408,449), Peru (395,005), Chile (351,575), the UK (303,058), Iran (298,909), Spain (282,641), Pakistan (276,288), Saudi Arabia (272,590), Colombia (267,385), Italy (246,776), Bangladesh (232,194), Turkey (228,924), France (221,077), Germany (208,546), Argentina (178,996), Iraq (118,300), Canada (117,357), Qatar (110,153) and Indonesia (104,432), the CSSE figures showed.

The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the UK (46,046), Mexico (45,361), Italy (35,129), India (34,193), France (30,226), Spain (28,441), Peru (18,612), Iran (16,343) and Russia (13,650).