Paris: The new coronavirus has claimed at least 200,736 lives since its outbreak in China in December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

More than 2,864,070 cases were registered in 193 countries and territories. Of these cases, at least 772,900 are now considered recovered.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organisation, probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Since Friday evening, 6,813 new deaths and 93,320 infections were recorded worldwide. The United States, the worst-hit country, registered 2,710 of those deaths, Britain 813 and Italy 415.

The United States has the highest number of deaths with 53,070 from 924.865 cases.

Italy has the second highest toll with 26,384 deaths out of 195,351 cases, followed by Spain (22,902 deaths and 223,759 cases), France (22,614 deaths and 161,488 cases) and the UK with 20,319 fatalities and 148,377 cases.

China -- excluding Hong Kong and Macau -- has to date declared 4,632 deaths and 82,816 cases, just 12 more since Friday.

Europe has a total of 122,171 deaths from 1,360,314 cases, the United States and Canada have 55,586 deaths and 969,896 cases, Asia has 7,854 deaths from 195,102 cases, Latin America and the Caribbean have 7,434 deaths from 150,162 cases, the Middle East has 6,225 deaths from 150.625 cases, Africa has 1,361 deaths from 29,981 cases and Oceania has 105 deaths from 7,991 cases.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.