At least 257,687 people have died of the novel coronavirus since the epidemic surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 11anm Wednesday based on official sources.
There have been more than 3,675,869 officially recorded cases spanning 195 countries and territories. The United States is the worst-hit country, with 71,078 deaths out of more than 1.2 million cases.
Britain follows with 29,427, though there is some debate over the figures there. Figures compiled by British regional health agencies put the number of fatalities at over 32,000, which include cases where Covid-19 is only suspected to be the cause and people who tested positive.