LONDON • Worldwide coronavirus cases crossed 40 million yesterday, according to a Reuters tally, as the onset of winter in the northern hemisphere fuelled a resurgence in the spread of the disease.
The Reuters tally is based on official reporting by individual countries. Experts believe the true numbers of both cases and deaths are likely much higher, given deficiencies in testing and potential under-reporting by some countries.
The Reuters data shows the pace of the pandemic continues to pick up. It took just 32 days to go from 30 million global cases to 40 million, compared with the 38 days it took to get from 20 million to 30 million, the 44 days between 10 million and 20 million, and the three months it took to reach 10 million cases from when the first infections were reported in Wuhan, China, in early January.
Record one-day increases in new infections were seen at the end of last week, with global coronavirus cases rising above 400,000 for the first time.
There were an average of around 347,000 cases each day over the past week, compared with 292,000 in the first week of October.
The United States, India and Brazil remain the worst affected countries in the world. Covid-19 cases in North, Central and South America represent about 47.27 per cent or nearly half of global cases.
Around 247 cases are seen per 10,000 people in the US. For India and Brazil, those numbers stand at 55 cases and 248 cases per 10,000 people, respectively.
New cases are growing at over 150,000 a day in Europe, as many countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, Cyprus and the Czech Republic, have reported record daily increases in the number of coronavirus infections.
Europe now accounts for over 17 per cent of the global cases and nearly 22 per cent of the deaths related to the virus worldwide.
Parts of the United Kingdom were put under lockdown as Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted to contain a second wave of infections through local measures.
France imposed curfews, while other European nations closed schools, cancelled surgery and enlisted student medics.
US President Donald Trump called for a big economic stimulus as the country's infections surpassed eight million, with record spikes in several states.
States across the Midwest are seeing a rise in coronavirus cases, with new infections and hospitalisations hitting record levels.
India's cumulative tally of coronavirus infections stood at 7.43 million last Saturday, with the number of active infections slipping below 800,000 for the first time in 11/2 months.
Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the coronavirus, extended restrictions and closures in the capital Teheran into a third week last Saturday as its death toll rose above 30,000.
Since the pandemic started, over 1.1 million people have died due to Covid-19, with the global fatality rate hovering around 2.8 per cent of the total cases.
An official at the World Health Organisation has said that the global death toll from Covid-19 could double to two million before a successful vaccine is widely used, and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic.
REUTERS
