Death toll worldwide from coronavirus close to 5 million

PARIS: The coronavirus has killed at least 4 941 032 people since the outbreak was first reported in China in December 2019, according to a tally compiled by AFP yesterday.

At least 243 270 300 cases of coronavirus have been registered. The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.

The figures are based on daily reports provided by health authorities in each country. They exclude revisions made by other statistical organisations, which show that the number of deaths is much higher.

The World Health Organization estimates that the pandemic’s overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19.

A large number of the less severe or asymptomatic cases also remain undetected, despite intensified testing in many countries.

On Saturday, 6 072 new deaths and 394 025 new cases were recorded worldwide.

The countries with the most new deaths were Russia with 1 072, followed by the US with 590 and India with 561.

The US is the worst-affected country with 735 801 deaths from 45 427 539 cases.

After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 605 457 deaths from 21 723 559 cases, India with 454 269 deaths from 34 175 468 cases, Mexico with 286 259 deaths from 3 781 661 cases, and Russia with 230 600 deaths from 8 241 643 cases.

The country with the highest number of deaths compared to its population is Peru with 607 fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Bosnia-Herzegovina with 345, North Macedonia 338, Bulgaria 331, Montenegro 328 and Hungary 316.

Latin America and the Caribbean overall have 1 514 642 deaths from 45 718 783 cases, Europe 1 373 413

deaths from 72 449 471 infections, and Asia 862 678 deaths from 55 455 754 cases.

The US and Canada have reported 764 541 deaths from 47 124 343 cases, Africa 216 752 deaths from 8 465 317 cases, the Middle East 206 339 deaths from 13 814 060 cases, and Oceania 2 667 deaths from 242 573 cases.