Covid-19 fatalities cross 210,000 globally; Europe and US worst hit

PARIS: More than 210,000 people have died worldwide in the coronavirus pandemic,  85 percent of them in Europe and the United States, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources at 0845 GMT on Tuesday.

A total of 210,930 deaths have been recorded among 3,027,853 cases since the outbreak began in China late last year.

Europe, the hardest-hit continent, registered 126,793 fatalities from 1,404,171 infections, while the United States was the country with the most deaths -- 56,253 -- ahead of Italy with 26,977, Spain with 23,822, France  23,293 and Britain 21,092.

Meanwhile, Brazil has emerged as a potential new hot spot for infections, and fresh doubts have been raised over whether Japan would be able to host the already postponed Olympic Games next year.

Europe and some U.S. states are also continuing to gradually ease limits on movement and commerce as they try to restart their economies.

But in a reminder of the virus's increasing toll, President Donald Trump said the numbers of deaths could reach 70,000 in the US, after putting the number at 60,000 several times earlier this month.

With the number of new cases waning, New Zealand's government loosened its lockdown, which for more than a month had shuttered schools and most businesses, and only allowed people to leave their homes for essential work, to get groceries or to exercise.