Live updates: Global COVID-19 cases exceed 65 million

Confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide have exceeded 65 million, with over 1.5 million fatalities and more than 42 million recoveries, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Here is the latest:

TheChinese mainlandon Friday recorded 17 new COVID-19 cases, including two locally transmitted cases.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has hit 14 million with over 279,000 deaths. Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious disease expert, said that he has accepted Joe Biden's offer to be his chief medical adviser.

South Korea reported 583 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, down from the previous day's 629, the highest since the first wave peaked in February and early March.

The UK has received its first batch of thePfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses, which it approved on Wednesday.