Workers make protective suits for the NHS (National Health Service) at a factory in London, Britain, April 17, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has passed 154,142 and the global confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 2,242,868 as of 10am BJT on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Current status (data as of 10:00 am BJT, April 18):

Chinese health authority said Saturday that it received reports of 27 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland Friday, of which 17 were imported.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 700,000 as of 9:10 p.m. local time Friday (0110 GMT on Saturday), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 22,745 lives in locked-down Italy, bringing the total number of cases, including fatalities and recoveries, so far to 172,434, according to the latest data released by the country's Civil Protection Department on Friday.

Despite a rising COVID-19 death toll in France, the number of people being hospitalized fell for a third straight day, offering a glimmer of hope, said Director General of Health Jerome Salomon on Friday. 

Iran said on Friday that it is closer to the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak in most of the country. Meanwhile, Turkey is poised to overtake Iran as the hardest-hit country in the Middle East due to rapid growth of new cases.

South Korea reported 18 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,653.

The epidemic curve of COVID-19 in Switzerland fell and flattened recently, but the country is "far from out of the risk zone," a health official said on Friday.