ABUJA, Nigeria

South Africa registered 2,419 new cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the number of infections to 622,551, the health ministry announced.

It said 238 people died from the virus, pushing the number of fatalities to 13,981.

Health professionals have conducted 3.6 million tests and the number of recoveries reached 536,694.

The pandemic has claimed nearly 841,000 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 16.3 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.