The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 263 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 262,735,124 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,214,863 Wednesday morning.

The US has recorded 48,554,890 cases to date and more than 780,140 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.

Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, has registered 22,094,459 cases so far, while its Covid death toll rose to 614,681.

India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 34,587,822 on Wednesday, as 4,225 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.

Besides, another 190 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Wednesday morning, taking the total death toll to 468,790.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that it’s not yet clear whether Omicron easily spreads from person to person compared to other variants, even though the number of people testing positive has risen in South Africa where this variant was involved.

It’s also not yet clear whether Omicron causes more severe disease, but preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalisation in South Africa, which however may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, reports Xinhua.

WHO classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2 virus, now with the name Omicron, as a ‘Variant of Concern’ (VOC).