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More than 1.9 million people worldwide have now died from the virus, with new variants adding to soaring cases and prompting the re-introduction of restrictions on movement across the globe — even as with mass inoculation drives underway.

At least 90,163,487 people have been reported to infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,936,403 have died, according to a reputable news agency tally published on Sunday.

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Pope Francis urged people to get the vaccination saying he would be inoculated against the virus himself next week when the Vatican begins its campaign and denouncing opposition to the jab.

Russia reports 23,309 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours on Saturday.

"There is a suicidal denial which I cannot explain, but today we have to get vaccinated," the pontiff tells Canale 5 in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip received their Covid-19 vaccinations on Saturday, said Buckingham Palace.

A source told the Press Association news agency that the queen, 94, and Philip, 99, were given the injections by a royal household doctor at Windsor Castle.

More than 1.5 million people in Britain have so far been inoculated, in the biggest immunisation programme in national history, with the elderly, their carers and health workers first in line.

The total number of Germany's coronavirus deaths crossed 40,000 on Sunday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the coming weeks would be "the hardest" yet.

Germany recorded 465 deaths over the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said, raising the toll since the start of the pandemic to 40,343.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 24,694 to 1,891,581, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.

The reported death toll rose by 1,083 to 39,878, the tally showed.

India records 18,222 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday.

Russia on Saturday reported 23,309 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours, including 4,900 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 3,379,103.

Authorities said 470 people had died, taking Russia's official death toll to 61,381.

India has recorded 18,222 new cases of the novel coronavirus, health ministry data showed on Saturday, taking its tally to 10,431,639 infections.