The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 300 million today. Getty Images

The number of global cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) has surpassed 300 million today, according to official figures from Agency France-Presse. (Photo from World Journal)

Since the outbreak of the epidemic was reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) China branch in late December 2019, the cumulative number of cases worldwide has reached 342,439.

Omicron, a new variant of COVID-19 that was first discovered in Botswana and South Africa, has been spreading rapidly since the end of last year.

Omicron brings 4th wave of coronavirus, with many countries reporting new highs of infections.

In the past week, there were 13.5 million new cases of infection worldwide, a 64% increase from the previous week, with an average of 1,938,395 new cases per day.

Thirty-four countries in the world recorded new infections in a single week, of which eight were in Europe, seven in Africa, and six in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The U.S., Canada, and Australia also all have record highs

(Source: Compiled from online information)