Global Covid-19 cases cross 61 million

The confirmed COVID-19 cases across the globe surpassed 61 million on Friday.

A total of 61,026,993 people have been infected with the virus so far. And there have been 1,432,817 Covid-19 deaths, according to John Hopkins University data.

Experts are calling the spike in death and infection, in the past few weeks, the start of a second wave.

Covid-19 has hit 191 countries since the first cases were reported from China in December last year.

The US has reported 12,883,846 cases since the start of the pandemic. 

And the country's fatalities have climbed to 263,455 and it is averaging more than 1,650 deaths per day. 

To avoid any traces of Covid-19 that might be lurking on surfaces, Americans have been wiping down groceries, wearing surgical gloves in public, and leaving mail packages out for an extra day or two. 

But experts say the national fixation on scrubbing can sometimes be overkill, reports AP.

Brazil has the world's second-highest fatality now, after the US, with 171,460 deaths.

India is the third-worst affected country with 135,715 deaths.

Bangladesh reported 20 more Covid-19 deaths up to early Friday. The country also reported 2,273 infections at that time, taking the caseload to 458,711.

Bangladesh is once again showing an upward trend of new cases.

So far, 6,544 patients have succumbed to Covid-19 in the country, and the death rate stands at 1.43%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.-UNB