More than half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, Spain and Italy when 53,334 people died in US,22,902 in Spain,22,614 in France,20,319 in United Kingdom,5819 in Germany,4512 in China.
Infected people increased to 28,65,939 in 185 countries,201,698 died globally while 265 died in Pakistan and total infectees are 12,657. As many as 2755 patients were recovered.
The first death linked to the disease was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 201,698, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments.
Infected people increased to 28,65,939 in 185 countries,201,698 died globally while 265 died in Pakistan and total infectees are 12,657. As many as 2755 patients were recovered.
The first death linked to the disease was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 201,698, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments.
By comparison, there are an estimated 400,000 deaths annually from malaria, one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases.
Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
The United States had reported more than 52,400 deaths as of Saturday morning, while Italy, Spain and France have reported between 22,000-26,000 fatalities each.
Of the top 20 most severely affected countries, Belgium has reported the highest number of fatalities per capita, with six deaths per 10,000 people, compared to 4.9 in Spain and 1.6 in the United States.
Around 8% of all cases reported in the United States have been fatal, while more than 10% of cases reported in Spain and Italy have resulted in deaths.
However those rates would be considerably lower if the infection totals included the many cases of the illness that go unreported - since not everyone with symptoms is tested.
Asia and Latin America have each reported more than 7,000 deaths, while the Middle East has reported upwards of 8,800. The current toll in Africa is around 1,350.
The global death toll has continued to grow at a rate of 3-4% per day over the past 10 days, though that rate has slowed since the beginning of the month.
The true number of fatalities is expected to be higher as many countries have not included deaths recorded in nursing homes and other locations outside hospitals.A tentative easing around the world of coronavirus lockdowns gathered pace on Saturday with the reopening in India of neighbourhood stores that many of the country’s 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from cold drinks to mobile phone data cards.
The relaxation of the Indian lockdown came with major caveats. It did not apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country and terrified its multitudes of poor who live in slum conditions too crowded for social distancing.
Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, for families that run small stores, being able to earn again brought relief.
“This is a good decision,” said Amit Sharma, an architect. “We have to open a few things and let the economy start moving. The poor people should have some source of income. This virus is going to be a long-term problem.”
Last week, India also allowed manufacturing and farming to resume in rural areas to ease the economic plight of millions left jobless by the lockdown imposed March 24. India’s restrictions have allowed people out of their homes only to buy food, medicine or other essentials.
Elsewhere in Asia, authorities reported no new deaths on Saturday for the 10th straight day in China, where the virus originated.
And South Korea reported just 10 fresh cases, the eighth day in a row its daily jump came below 20. There were no new deaths for the second straight day.
In Sri Lanka, however, the lockdown was tightened, not eased, confirming a pattern of one-step-forward, one-step-back also seen elsewhere in the pandemic, trying to juggle public health against the health of shut-down economies.
Sri Lanka had partially lifted a month long curfew during daytime hours in more than two-thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide after a surge Friday of 46 new infections, the highest increase in a day on the Indian Ocean island. The new curfew remains in effect until Monday.
The global death toll climbed Saturday toward 201,659, according to a tally compiled by John Hopkins University from government figures. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher.
Pope Francis appealed for prayers for funeral home workers, saying: “What they do is so heavy and sad. They really feel the pain of this pandemic.”
In an announcement that underscored the scientific unknowns about the virus, the World Health Organisation said “there is currently no evidence”that people who have recovered from Covid-19 cannot fall sick again.
In Europe, Belgium sketched out plans for a progressive lockdown relaxation starting May 4 with the resumption of nonessential treatment in hospitals and the reopening of textile and sewing shops so people can make face masks. Bars and restaurants would be allowed to start reopening June 8, although Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes also cautioned that a surge in infections could alter the timeline and that “nothing is set in stone”.
Kids in Spain will get their first fresh air in weeks on Sunday when a total ban on letting them outside is relaxed. After 44 days indoors, they’ll be allowed to take one toy or scooter with them but not play together for the adult-supervised one-hour excursions no farther than 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) from home. Some nervous parents shopped online for child-size masks for their children, as recommended by authorities.
“I really want to get outside, and Ema does as well,” said Madrid resident Eva Novilo, whose daughter Ema is 7. But Novilo predicted “difficult situations” when they run into Ema’s friends and have to keep the children apart. “I don’t know if we will be able to maintain control.”
Italy said free protective masks will be distributed to nursing homes, police, public officials and transport workers, preparing for the return to work of millions when lockdown restrictions are eased from May 4. Rome’s public transit agency painted blue circles on subway platforms to remind people to keep their distance when commuters return in large numbers.
With traditional marches and other gatherings banned, Italians celebrated the 75th anniversary of their liberation from occupation forces in World War II, emerging on balconies or rooftops at the same time Saturday to sing a folk song linked to resistance fighters.

Britain is still holding off on changes to its lockdown as the coronavirus-related death toll in hospitals topped 20,000. The figure does not include deaths in nursing homes, which are likely to be in the thousands.
In France, the government is preparing to gingerly ease one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns from May 11. The health minister detailed plans to scale up testing to help contain any new flare-ups.
Testing shortages are a critical problem elsewhere, too, including in Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, which is veering closer to becoming a pandemic hot spot.
Medical officials in Rio de Janeiro and four other major cities warned that their hospital systems are on the verge of collapse or already overwhelmed. In Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon, officials said they have been forced to dig mass graves in a cemetery because of so many deaths. Workers have been burying 100 corpses a day — triple the pre-virus average.
In the US, Republican governors in Georgia and Oklahoma allowed salons, spas and barbershops to reopen, while Alaska cleared the way for restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops and other businesses to open their doors, all with limitations. Some Alaska municipalities chose to maintain stricter rules.
Though limited in scope, and subject to social-distancing restrictions, the reopenings marked a symbolic milestone in the debate raging in the United States and beyond as to how quickly political leaders should lift economically devastating lockdown orders.
In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can resume outdoor activities such as golf and motorised boating. Michigan has nearly 3,000 virus-related deaths, behind only New York and New Jersey.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump spoke optimistically of the economy but also asked people to continue social distancing and using face coverings. The same day, he signed a $484 billion bill to aid employers and hospitals. In the past five weeks, roughly 26 million people have filed for jobless aid, or about 1 in 6 US workers.
Trump also said his widely criticised comments suggesting people can ingest or inject disinfectant to fight Covid-19 were an attempt at sarcasm.