THE number of COVID-19 positive cases worldwide now exceeds 5.37 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Six countries registered over 200,000 positive cases, with the United States (US) alone with more than 1 million cases and a cumulative total of 1.63 million.

Five other countries with more than 200,000 positive cases were Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.

Six countries with over 100,000 infections were France, Germany, Turkey, India, Peru and Iran.

Meanwhile, Canada recorded an infection rate surpassing China with 86,000 and 84,000 cases, respectively.