Nurses and healthcare workers mourn and remember their colleagues who died during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus during a demonstration outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on April 10, 2020 in New York City. (PHOTO / AFP)

NEW YORK / ROME / RIO DE JANEIRO / CAIRO / BELGRADE / BUENOS AIRES — The death toll from COVID-19 exceeded 100,000 worldwide on Friday afternoon, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 100,376 as of 1:30 pm US Eastern Time (1730 GMT), an interactive map maintained by the CSSE showed.

According to the data, a total of 1,650,210 cases have been recorded around the globe. Other countries with more than 10,000 deaths include Spain and France.

Over 368,000 COVID-19 patients have recovered worldwide.

US

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 500,000 in the United States, according to statistics of Johns Hopkins University.  

A new study has begun recruiting at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine how many adults in the United States without a confirmed history of COVID-19 infection have antibodies to the virus, according to a release of the NIH on Friday.

The presence of antibodies in the blood indicates a prior infection. In this "serosurvey," researchers will collect and analyze blood samples from as many as 10,000 volunteers to provide critical data for epidemiological models, said the NIH.

The United States has approved 661,000 loans to small businesses totaling $168 billion under a program to address the fallout from the novel coronavirus epidemic, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday.

US President Donald Trump said he’ll introduce on Tuesday a council of doctors and business people who will advise his government on how to reopen the economy following the coronavirus outbreak.

UK

The death toll of those hospitalized in Britain who tested positive for the novel coronavirus reached 8,958 in Britain, marking a record-high daily increase of 980, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Friday.

As of Friday morning, a total of 73,758 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Britain, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.

With Britain's enhanced capacity to test the virus, "all key social care staff and NHS (National Health Service) staff" who need to be tested can now get tested, said Hancock during Friday's Downing Street daily press briefing.

Noting that he has set a goal of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April, Hancock said there have been "a huge number of offers" from science firms which are "working 24/7" with the government to achieve this target.

According to a statement from Downing Street released on Friday, UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he is receiving to aid his recovery.

ALSO READ: Boris Johnson leaves intensive care as UK extends lockdown

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday announced the decision to extend the national coronavirus quarantine until at least May 3.

While the prime minister extended the national lockdown first applied on March 10, the new rules also allow some minor concessions, including the re-opening of stores that sell goods for children as well as those selling stationery and books, beginning April 14.

Our hope is that after May 3 we can gradually start again, with caution, gradually

Giuseppe Conte, Italian Prime Minister

Conte said he hoped the extension of the lockdown to May 3 would be the last full extension of the measure that is keeping almost all of Italy's more than 60 million people at home.

"Our hope is that after May 3 we can gradually start again, with caution, gradually," Conte said. "But this will depend on the efforts we make between now and then."

"We are determined to loosen the measures for economic activity as soon as possible. But we are not yet in a position to do so," he added.

Conte also cautioned against Italians letting down their guard.

Italy remains one of the countries hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 18,849 deaths and 147,577 infections.

Spain

Spain’s daily coronavirus death toll fell for the third day in a row on Saturday after 510 fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said in a statement, marking the smallest overnight increase since March 23.

Total fatalities from the virus rose to 16,353, from 15,843 on Friday, the ministry said, while the number of confirmed cases climbed to 161,852 from 157,022.

Germany

A new regulation stating that returned travelers have to go into two-week home quarantine entered into force in Germany on Friday with several thousand people at Frankfurt Airport affected on the first day of the regulation, according to a report by the German Press Agency.

Returned travelers are required to go straight to home quarantine and report to their local health department. But truck drivers, commuters or people who have been abroad for less than 24 hours are exempt from the quarantine order, according to the new regulation.

Germany’s number of confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 4,133 on Saturday to 117,658, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

That was lower than 5,323 reported on Friday, marking the first decline after four days of increases. The reported death toll rose by 171 to 2,544.

France

As of Friday the novel coronavirus has claimed 13,197 deaths in French hospitals and retirement homes, an increase of 987 from a day earlier while the number of critically-ill patients declined for a second consecutive day, offering a "pale ray of sunshine," said General Director of Health Jerome Salomon at his daily briefing on the epidemic.

Further 554 patients died in the country's health institutions in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 8,598. The cumulative tally of deaths in accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people since March 1 stood at 4,599, up from 4,166.

The total infections detected in hospitals rose by 4.25 percent to 90,000, slower than Thursday's 5.3 percent and the number of "confirmed or possible" cases in nursing homes rose to 34,193 from 31,415, said the official.

Some 31,276 are hospitalized, among them 7,004 in intensive care units, down by 62 in the last 24 hours.

Ireland

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced Friday that the government's "stay-at-home" order will be extended for another three weeks until May 5 in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Speaking at a government press briefing, Varadkar told local media that whether the extended order will expire on May 5 depends on what the situation will be like in the future.

He also said that even if the order will expire as scheduled, the restrictions will be eased bit by bit instead of being done in one go, according to local media reports.

On Friday night, Irish Department of Health said that another 25 people died from COVID-19 while 480 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country in the day.

To date, Ireland has reported 7,054 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 288 deaths related to the virus.

Serbia

More than 3,000 people have so far been infected with COVID-19 in Serbia, including 71 deaths, local authorities reported at a daily press conference on Friday.

In Serbia, 3,105 people have been infected with the coronavirus, said a press release of the government, adding that 14,240 tests were conducted since the disease was first reported in the country at the beginning of March.

So far, 2,107 patients have been hospitalized, of which 136 are in critical condition.

Brazil

The Brazilian government announced on Friday the number of deaths of COVID-19 in the country had reached 1,056, and the number of confirmed cases had increased to 19,638, with a fatality rate of 5.4 percent.

The Ministry of Health stated that in the last 24 hours there had been an increase of 12 percent in the number of deaths and a 10 percent increase in positive cases.

The state of Sao Paulo, the wealthiest and most populous in the country, has been the region most heavily affected by the virus, with 540 deaths and 8,216 confirmed cases, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 147 deaths and 2,464 cases, and Ceara, with 58 deaths and 1,478 cases.

Ecuador

Ecuador registered on Friday its highest number of COVID-19 cases for a single day, with a total of 7,161 confirmed cases and 297 deaths, the Ministry of Public Health reported.

Government minister Maria Paula Romo said in the last 24 hours, there had been an increase of 2,196 confirmed cases and 25 deaths due to the virus.

The increase in numbers is due to the country's ability to process COVID-19 tests faster. Starting this week, Ecuador released a molecular diagnostic platform that allows authorities to process an additional 1,000 novel coronavirus tests daily.

The Ministry of Public Health indicated that 73.7 percent of the total confirmed cases of the virus are concentrated in the southwestern province of Guayas, with 5,281 infected cases and 159 deaths.

Uruguay

The Uruguayan government announced on Friday that it will create a humanitarian corridor to evacuate 112 passengers from the cruise ship "Greg Mortimer," as many of the passengers have contracted the COVID-19.

Australian and New Zealander passengers on the ship, which has been anchored for days off the Uruguayan coast, will be transferred from the port to the Carrasco International Airport for a flight to Australia. The flight will be specially equipped with medical personnel on board to deal with any health emergencies.

As of Thursday night, Uruguay has reported 473 cases of COVID-19, with seven deaths.

Egypt

Egypt reported on Friday 17 COVID-19 deaths, registering the highest daily death toll since the novel coronavirus broke out in the country in February, bringing the total number of deaths to 135.

In a statement, spokesman for Egyptian Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 95 new cases have been reported, raising the number of confirmed cases to 1,794.

The spokesman revealed that 36 cases, all Egyptians, have left hospitals in the past 24 hours after being fully cured.

Megahed said test results of 505 of the confirmed cases have turned negative, adding that 384 of them have been discharged from quarantine hospitals after they completely recovered.

Over the past few weeks, the country has suspended schools and universities, halted flights, cancelled sports activities, closed entertainment places and malls, stopped mass prayers in mosques and churches and shut down museums and archeological sites.

READ MORE: Fatality rate: COVID-19 could be 10 times deadlier than flu

Zimbabwe

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe has risen to 13 after two more people tested positive for the virus, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said Friday.

"As part of contact tracing and follow-up, the local COVID-19 Rapid Response Team visited their homes and samples were collected for COVID-19 testing. Both are clinically stable, with mild disease and under self-isolation at home," the ministry said.

The number of COVID-19 deaths remains at three in the country, which is currently under a 21-day national lockdown until April 19. 

Algeria

The Algerian authorities said on Friday that the overall coronavirus infections have reached 1,761 in the country, including 256 deaths.

A total of 25 new death cases were reported between March 30 and April 10, of which 15 were confirmed during the past 24 hours, said Djamel Fourar, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission.

In addition, 95 were tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, Fourar added.

A total of 405 have been healed of the coronavirus as the improving trend continues, he noted.

Argentina 

Argentina will extend until April 27 the lockdown it imposed last month to control the spread of the coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised address on Friday, adding that the measure would be applied only in major cities.

Most Argentines live in metropolitan areas like Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Cordoba. The country has wide expanses of sparsely populated agricultural area including the Pampas farm belt, which has made Argentina a top world food exporter.

“The situation will remain the same in all major cities,” Fernandez said. The lockdown, which started on March 20, has slowed the spread of the virus and remains the best way of controlling the pandemic, he added.

“We have managed to flatten the curve of new infections,” he said. Argentina has had 1,975 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far, of which 82 have been fatal, according to official data.

Panama 

Panama registered 222 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 2,974 cases and 74 deaths, the healthy ministry said.

Mexico 

Mexico reported 403 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 3,844 cases and 233 deaths, the health ministry said.

Russia 

Russia reported 1,667 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 13,584.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country rose by 12 to 106, the Russian coronavirus crisis response center said.