Amid its non-stop spread, the global confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 44 million on Thursday, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The data shows the Covid-19 cases reached 44,400,318 while 1,173,270 fatalities were recorded till this morning.

The US has registered over 227,663 deaths and more than 8.8 million infections – both the highest in the world.

Nearly half a million people in the United States have contracted coronavirus in the last seven days as it has recorded 5,600 deaths in the past week.

The country has registered 73,240 new cases with 985 fatalities on Wednesday, according to the JHU.

Brazil, which has the world’s second highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest number of cases, after the United States and India, has registered 5,468,270 cases with 158,456 deaths as of Thursday.

Besides, India has recorded 7,990, 322 cases while the countries total death toll reached 120,010, said JHU data.

Restriction reimposed in European countries

A massive second wave of Covid-19 infections has prompted European countries to tighten their preventive measures, including reimposing lockdowns, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday evening that France will go into national lockdown starting from Friday.

France on Wednesday recorded 36,437 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the national tally to 1,235,132 with 35,785 deaths, according to figures released by French Public Health Agency.

Under the new lockdown, the only authorised out-of-home trips will be “to go to work, to a medical appointment, to provide assistance, to go shopping or to take the air,” said Macron.

The restrictive measures will affect universities, libraries, bars, cafes, restaurants and gyms. Public gatherings will be banned and cultural ceremonies and conferences be suspended, according to the president.

But unlike the first lockdown, nurseries, primary schools and middle schools will remain open, said the president, arguing that “our children would not be lastingly deprived of education, of contact with the school system.”

Germany announced a partial lockdown on Wednesday starting from November 2.

Germany registered a daily record high of 14,964 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the national caseload to 464,239, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s disease control agency, said on Wednesday.

The death toll in the country rose by 85 to 10,183, according to the RKI.

Under the new round of lockdown, entertainment and leisure activities will be largely prohibited throughout Germany as bars, restaurants, theaters, operas and concert venues will have to close until the end of November.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday called on the European Union (EU) member states to shoulder responsibility at all levels to fight the second wave of the pandemic.

Von der Leyen underlined the necessity of wearing a mask, good hand hygiene, as well as avoiding crowds and indoor spaces lacking good ventilation.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Wednesday announced the detection of 1,493 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours and 23 more deaths.

The country’s caseload now stands at 403,079 with 5,861 fatalities.

With the recovery of 1,610 patients, the total number of recovered patients jumped to 319,733. The current recovery rate is 79.32 percent.

The fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.45 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.