KINGSTON, Jamaica — The novel coronavirus has infected more than 261.4 million people, leaving more than 5.9 million dead across 196 countries and territories.

The majority of those infected have recovered and many countries have rolled out vaccine campaigns as economies start to recover from the pandemic.

— Jamaica reported 30 new cases of COVID-19 and two fatalities on Wednesday, pushing the total number of cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic to 128,456 and the death toll to 2,857.

— The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Thursday reported declines in coronavirus infections and deaths among a significant number of member countries, including in the Caribbean.

— PAHO on Wednesday also urged countries in the Americas, including the Caribbean, to continue focusing on the protection of the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, the immune-compromised, health care workers and other high-risk groups, even as COVID-19 vaccination continues to expand in the region.

— The UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool on Thursday said that nearly three dozen companies worldwide will soon start making generic versions of Pfizer’s coronavirus pill.

— Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday said the country will “stick with” its zero-COVID strategy, state TV reported, as the world’s most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

— The United States has recorded the most COVID deaths with 954,519, followed by Brazil with 650,000, and India with 514,388.

Read the full stories here:

Decline in COVID-19 infections and deaths among PAHO member countries

PAHO wants Caribbean countries to continue focusing on protecting most vulnerable

More than 30 companies to start making Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill

China to ‘stick with’ zero-COVID strategy, President Xi says

ARE WE FLATTENING THE CURVE?here for interactive chart* with details on Jamaica’s numbers.here for a look at the numbers globally.

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*Data mined from various sources around the world.