Australia, New Zealand report new COVID-19 cases

By Recep Sakar

MELBOURNE (AA) - Health authorities in Australia and New Zealand confirmed more infections and fatalities from the coronavirus Friday.

Cases in Australia rose to 25,570 with 112 infections reported in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.

At least 18 patients lost their lives, bringing deaths to 601, while recoveries increased to 20,628.

New Zealand reported 13 cases in the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 1,727, including 22 deaths and 1,568 recoveries.

- Worldwide

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed nearly 836,000 lives in 188 countries and regions since it originated in China last December. The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries.

More than 24 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries exceeding 16 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Fahri Aksut