At least 274,617 people have died of the novel coronavirus since the epidemic surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 11am on Saturday based on official sources.
There have been more than 3,946,130 officially recorded cases across the globe. The United States is the worst-hit country, with 77,180 deaths.
Britain follows with 31,241, then Italy with 30,201 deaths, Spain with 26,478 and France with 26,230. Nearly 200,000 cases in Russia Officials say the number of confirmed infections has risen by another 10,817 to reach a total of 198,676, putting Russia behind only the US, Spain, Italy and Britain in total cases.