Global Covid cases top 508 million

The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 508 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world, report agencies.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 508,524,104 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,215,164 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 80,952,109 cases so far and 991,171 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 43,052,425 on Friday, as 2,451 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal Health Ministry's latest data.
This is the third consecutive day when the number of new cases has breached the 2,000-mark, after hitting low for the past several months.
Besides, there were 54 new deaths due to the pandemic since Thursday morning, taking the death toll to 522,116.
Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing.
City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases on Friday that were counted separately.
Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict "zero-COVID" strategy has drawn global attention.
China has doubled down on the approach even in face of the highly transmissible omicron variant. The zero-COVID policy warded off many deaths and widespread outbreaks when faced with less transmissible variants through mass testing and strict lockdowns where people could not leave their homes.
But recent developments in Shanghai have led some to question whether the strategy is worth the tradeoffs. Many residents in the city have struggled to get adequate food supplies during a lockdown this month, while some were also unable to get drugs or medical attention. Some elderly people died after an outbreak at an hospital led medical staff to be quarantined.
The country is now facing its worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic in the central city of Wuhan.
Local media reported that in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the government ordered the suspension of in-person after-school activities and classes. The city government is now conducting a round of mass testing to look for more cases.
In Shanghai, city officials reported 12 new deaths Saturday, all elderly patients with underlying illnesses.