Shawdesh desk:

The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 358 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 357,954,943 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,614,015 Wednesday morning.

The US has recorded 72,171,187 cases so far and 871,934 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.

India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 39,799,202 on Tuesday, as 255,874 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.

Besides, 614 deaths since Monday morning pushed the total death toll to 490,462.

Meanwhile, the country’s Omicron tally reached 10,050 Monday. Most of the Omicron cases have been reported from the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 24,342,322 cases as of Wednesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 624,129.