Medical workers transport a patient outside a hospital in New York, the United States, Dec. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

The United States remains the worst-hit nation, with 296,656 COVID-19 deaths, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global death toll.

NEW YORK, Dec. 12  -- Global COVID-19 deaths reached 1.6 million on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The global death toll rose to 1,600,807, with a total of more than 71.4 million cases worldwide as of 1:26 p.m. (1826 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

The United States remains the worst-hit nation, with 15,939,022 cases and 296,656 deaths, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global death toll.