Global Covid-19 caseload tops 225.7 mn, Thailand, Canada, Ethiopia report jump in cases

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 225.7 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.64 million and vaccinations soared to over 5.74 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Wednesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and vaccination tally stood at 225,763,017, 4,647,792 and 5,747,547,990, respectively.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 41,360,450 and 663,923, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in second place with 33,289,579 cases.

The other worst countries with over 3 million cases are Brazil (21,019,830), the UK (7,316,519), Russia (7,072,825), France (7,007,374), Turkey (6,710,636), Iran (5,340,656), Argentina (5,229,848), Colombia (4,932,998), Spain (4,918,526), Italy (4,613,214), Indonesia (4,174,216), Germany (4,102,252) and Mexico (3,516,043), the CSSE figures showed.

In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 587,797 fatalities. Nations with a death toll of over 100,000 are India (443,213), Mexico (267,969), Peru (198,840), Russia (190,793), Indonesia (139,415), the UK (134,773), Italy (130,027), Colombia (125,713), France (116,454), Iran (115,167) and Argentina (113,816).

Thailand reports 13,798 new Covid-19 cases

Thailand on Wednesday recorded 13,798 new Covid-19 cases and 144 more deaths, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The CCSA, the country's Covid-19 task force, said most of the new infections were detected at factories, markets and construction worker campsites, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The capital city Bangkok confirmed 2,772 new cases during the past 24 hours, topping the list by regions. The country's total number of infections has risen to more than 1.42 million, while that of the death toll has reached 14,765.

The CCSA urged the public and all sectors to comply with the government's pandemic control guidelines as the government allowed more facilities to reopen with the numbers of new infections and fatalities on a downward trend.

According to the CCSA, the Thai government will purchase an additional 449,500 doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from the European Union, which are scheduled to arrive in Thailand by the end of September.

As of Tuesday, Thailand has administered more than 41.65 million doses of vaccines, with 18.4 per cent of the whole population having been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA.

The government aims to inoculate about 70 per cent of its nearly 70 million population by the end of the year.

Canadian Covid-19 cases surpass 1.55 mn

Canada has reported 3,955 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 1,555,121 with 27,262 deaths, according to local media. Canada's total Covid-19 cases surpassed 1.5 million on September 1.

Meanwhile, Alberta, a province with a population of 4.4 million, reported 1,434 new cases and nine fatalities on Tuesday.

The province now has 18,265 active cases and 822 hospitalisations, including 212 ICU admissions, the Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 90 per cent of the ICU admissions are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw said on Twitter.

Ontario, Canada's most populated province, recorded seven new deaths on Tuesday, bringing its total deaths to 9,624.

Quebec, another populous province with more than 8 million people, reported on Tuesday 633 new cases and seven new deaths.

The Public Health Agency of Canada recently called for increasing vaccination coverage and implementing other measures to curb the surging cases caused by the Delta variant.

Ethiopia reports 1,664 new Covid-19 cases

Ethiopia registered 1,664 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 325,379 as of Tuesday evening, the country's Ministry of Health said.

The ministry reported 34 new deaths and 1,146 more recoveries, bringing the national counts to 5,001 and 293,092 respectively, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the East Africa region.

According to the ministry, Ethiopia currently has 27,284 active Covid-19 cases, with 783 of them under severe health conditions.

Ethiopia is among the countries hardest hit by Covid-19 in Africa, following South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.