Worldwide COVID cases top 12 million
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Global coronavirus cases have passed 12 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, as evidence mounts of the airborne spread of the disease that has killed more than half a million people in seven months.
The number of cases is triple that of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Many hard-hit countries were easing lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of the novel virus, while others, such as China and Australia, implemented another round of shutdowns in response to a resurgence in infections. Experts say alterations to work and social life could last until a vaccine is available.
The first case was reported in China in early January and it took 149 days to hit six million cases. It has taken less than a third of that time — just 39 days — to double to 12 million cases, the tally shows.
There have been nearly 550,000 deaths linked to the virus so far, within the same range as the number of yearly influenza deaths reported worldwide. The first death was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China before infections and fatalities surged in Europe and then later in the United States.
The US remains by far the worst affected country, with over 132,000 deaths, while Brazil — whose virus-sceptic President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the disease — is a distant second with close to 68,000 deaths from almost 1.7 million cases.
The disease was spreading the fastest in Latin America. The Americas account for more than half the world’s infections and almost half its deaths. Brazil and the United States account for around 45 percent of all new cases since the beginning of July.
India — the country with the third highest number of infections — was battling an outbreak of more than 20,000 new cases each day. That number jumped to nearly 25,000 yesterday.
France, which had flattened its curve by imposing a strict lockdown earlier in the pandemic, also said it was girding for a possible surge in cases.
But, mindful of potentially disastrous consequences of attempting to thrust millions back into their homes, France’s new prime minister aimed to soothe fears by promising no new full shutdown.
“We’re not going to impose a lockdown like the one we did last March, because we’ve learned … that the economic and human consequences from a total lockdown are disastrous,” Jean Castex said, promising “targeted” measures instead.