BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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GENEVA -- The COVID-19 death toll worldwide has surpassed 700,000, reaching 701,754 as of Thursday, according to the latest number from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Globally, as of 12:00 p.m. CEST (1000 GMT) on Thursday, 18,575,326 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported to the WHO.
The United States and Brazil remain the top two in both confirmed cases and deaths, with 4,728,239 cases and 156,050 deaths reported from the U.S., and 2,801,921 cases and 95,819 deaths from Brazil.
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ACCRA -- The number of the novel coronavirus cases in Ghana has risen to 39,642, as health authorities confirmed 567 more infections on Thursday, said the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in its latest update.
The GHS said 821 more patients had completed their period of treatment, bringing the number of recovered and discharged cases to 36,384.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the West African country stood at 3,059, while the death toll remained at 191.
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LUSAKA -- Zambia on Thursday reported 23 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, the health ministry said on Thursday.
This brings the death toll to 199 since the outbreak of the pandemic in March this year.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson Abel Kabalo told a daily COVID-19 briefing that the country recorded 142 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative cases to 7,164.
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HANOI -- Vietnam reported a total of 34 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Thursday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 747, as well as two more deaths from the disease, according to its Ministry of Health.
Three cases have recently entered Vietnam from abroad while the rest were recorded domestically, among which 16 people were reportedly in contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to the ministry.
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YEREVAN -- Armenia on Thursday reported 233 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 39,819, according to the National Center for Disease Control.
Data from the center showed that 706 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 31,556. Meanwhile, two people died, raising the death toll to 772.
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BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi health official on Thursday warned of downplaying the risks of COVID-19, as the Health Ministry said the total nationwide infections climbed to 140,603.
"We call on the citizens to abide by the preventive measures and not to downplay the risk of the coronavirus because applying these measures would decrease the infections and the deaths," Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the ministry's public health department, said in a press release. Enditem
