Global Covid Cases Near 320 Million

The overall number of Covid cases is now fast approaching 320 million, with a spike in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus across the world.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 319,871,018 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,520,282 on Friday morning.

The US has recorded 64,044,568 cases so far and 846,371 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.

India's Covid-19 tally rose to 36,571,423 on Wednesday, as 253,496 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.

This was the second consecutive day when more than 200,000 new cases were registered in a day in the country in over eight months.

Besides, 380 more deaths were recorded since Wednesday morning, taking the death toll to 485,043.

Meanwhile, the country's Omicron tally has reached 5,488, in which Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Delhi have reported 1,367, 792 and 549 cases, respectively. To date, 2,162 Omicron patients have been discharged after recovery, as per the data.