From Our Bureau
The total number of COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe touched 5,71,678 cases even as the death toll soared to 26,494.
According to the latest Situation Report from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of confirmed cases rose by 62,514 and the death toll surged by 3,159 in the last 24 hours.
The European region continued to be the worst-hit, with the confirmed cases mounting to 3,24,343 and causing 18,740 deaths. As many as 37,646 cases and 2,635 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
In the American region, the confirmed cases surged to 1,00,314 and the death toll rose to 1,485.
In other regions, the pandemic continued to spread and the overall tally of confirmed cases and deaths, as of now, region-wise included: Western Pacific region, 1,01,462 confirmed cases and 3,592 deaths; Eastern Mediterranean region, 38,891 cases and 2,508 deaths; South-East Asia region, 3,085 cases and 114 deaths; and, African region, 2,831 cases and 48 deaths.
The risk assessment at global level remained very high and confirmed cases have been reported from 202 countries and territories so far. However, no new countries/territories reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hour.
The WHO Director-General highlighted the chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) as one of the most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives. To date, WHO has shipped almost 2 million individual items of PPE to 74 countries and it is preparing to send a similar quantity to a further 60 countries.
The WHO published the first edition of the practical manual to set up and manage a severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) treatment centre and a SARI screening facility in health-care facilities. The document has been developed to meet the operational needs emerging with the COVID-19 pandemic.
