Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 48.63 million, death toll at 1,232,281

More than 48.63 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,232,281​have died, according to a Reuters tally.

The US set a staggering new COVID-19 daily case record with more than 120,000 infections in a single day. And it was the second day in a row the country reported more than 100,000 infections.

Thursday saw at least 121,054 new cases nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. There were at least 1,187 reported deaths, a near 20 percent increase from the same day last week.

India recorded 47,638 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking its total to 8.41 million, data from the health ministry showed on Friday.

India has the world's second-highest caseload behind the United States, but has seen a steady dip in cases since September, in spite of the start of the Hindu festival season.

Deaths rose by 670 in the last 24 hours, taking total mortalities to 124,985, the ministry said.

Brazil reported 22,294 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 630 deaths from COVID-19, the health ministry said.

The South American country has now registered 5,612,319 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 161,736, according to ministry data, in the world’s most fatal outbreak outside the United States.

Russia reported a record high of 20,582 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including 6,253 infections in Moscow, bringing the national tally to 1,733,440.

Authorities also reported 378 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 29,887.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.