Global cases total passes 100 million
NEW YORK: Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million yesterday — and Britain’s death toll passed 100,000 — as countries around the world struggle with new virus variants and vaccine shortfalls.
Almost 1.3% of the world’s population has now been infected with Covid19 and more than 2.1 million people have died.
About 668,250 cases have been reported each day since the start of the year, with the global fatality rate at 2.15%.
It took the world 11 months to record the first 50 million cases of the pandemic, compared to just three months for cases to double to 100 million.
The worstaffected countries — the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom — make up more than half all reported Covid19 cases but represent 28% of the global population.
Britain’s 100,162 deaths are more than its civilian toll in World War 2 and twice the number killed in the 194041 Blitz bombing campaign.
Many more deaths would follow before a vaccination programme began to take effect, according to England’s chief medical officer.
‘‘It’s hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic, the years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended, and for so many relatives the missed chance, even to say goodbye,’’ Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
About 56 countries have begun vaccinating people, administering at least 64 million doses. Israel leads the world on per capita vaccinations, inoculating 29% of its population with at least one dose.
With more than 25 million cases, the US has 25% of all reported Covid cases, although it accounts for just 4% of the world’s population.
As the worstaffected region in the world, Europe is currently reporting a million new infections about every four days and has reported nearly 30 million since the pandemic began.
Despite securing deals for vaccine supplies early on, many European countries are facing delays in shipments from Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
In India, the nation with the secondhighest number of cases, infections are decreasing, with almost 13,700 reported on average each day — about 15% of its peak level.
China, which recently marked the first anniversary of the world’s first coronavirus lockdown in Wuhan, is facing its worst wave of local cases since March last year. — AP