US adds 1,568 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

The United States recorded 1,568 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 78,746, according to the latest real-time tally reported by Johns Hopkins University at 8:30 pm Saturday (0030 GMT Sunday).

The country — hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities — has now confirmed a total of 1,309,164 cases, the Baltimore-based school reported.

The number of novel coronavirus cases recorded worldwide surpassed four million on Saturday, according to an AFP tally based on official sources, as of 2145 GMT.

There are now at least 4,001,437 cases of coronavirus around the world, with 277,127 deaths.

Europe is the hardest-hit continent, with 1,708,648 cases and 155,074 deaths.

The AFP tally, using data collected from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflects only a fraction of the true number of infections. Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.

Brazil, the hardest-hit Latin American country in the coronavirus pandemic, has surpassed 10,000 deaths, according to figures released Saturday by the Ministry of Health.

While Brazil’s numbers are high — 10,627 deaths and 155,939 confirmed cases — scientists think the real figures could be 15 or even 20 times worse, given the country’s inability to carry out widespread testing.

In the last 24 hours alone, the nation saw 10,611 new cases and 730 fatalities, Brazil’s second-highest daily death toll, after a record set on Friday (751 deaths).