The overall global coronavirus caseload has increased to nearly 88 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.89 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Friday morning, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 87,952,778 and 1,895,925, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 21,543,310 and 364,735, respectively, according to the CSSE.

The US registered more COVID-19 deaths in a single day than ever before — nearly 3,900 — on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic, reports AP.

The virus is surging in several states, with California hit particularly hard, reporting on Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths. Skyrocketing caseloads there are threatening to force hospitals to ration care and essentially decide who lives and who dies.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 10,395,278, while the country’s death toll soared to 150,336.

Brazil's national death toll now stands at 200,498 and the total caseload at 7,961,673, according to the government.

BDST: 1352 HRS, JAN 08, 2021
AP