Global coronavirus infection cases top 100 million

GENEVA - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has surpassed 100 million, with an accelerated pace of infection, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Tuesday.

The figure has doubled in less than three months since reaching 50 million in early November. The death toll from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has already exceeded 2.1 million around the globe, according to the U.S. university data.

While some countries are now in the midst of distributing coronavirus vaccines, it remains uncertain when the pandemic will be subdued and economic activities will return to normal.

By country, the United States alone has reported over 25 million coronavirus cases with some 420,000 deaths, making it the hardest-hit nation in the world.

In terms of the number of COVID-19 cases, India has reported the second-highest total of about 11 million cases, followed by Brazil with nearly 9 million.

With Britain and Russia both reporting some 3.7 million cases, the five countries account for more than half of the world's coronavirus cases, the university tally showed.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has grown at a pace of roughly 4 million to nearly 5 million per week since mid-December, according to the World Health Organization.

The latest data suggest that the world health crisis has not abated at all despite efforts by countries around the globe to prevent the spread of the virus by shutting down businesses, restricting travel, tightening border controls and promoting social distancing.

Hospitals and clinics are running low on beds and coronavirus vaccines are also in short supply in some countries, while some variants of the coronavirus have been detected in countries such as Britain and South Africa.

-Kyodo News-

More than 2,500 US virus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON - The United States, the country hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic and in the throes of a surge in cases, on Tuesday registered more than 2,500 deaths in a 24-hour period, the highest total since late April, Johns Hopkins University said.

More than 180,000 new infections were recorded, according to real-time data provided by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT Wednesday).

The last time the daily death toll was higher than Tuesday's total of 2,562 was in late April, at the height of the pandemic's first wave. 

The number of hospitalizations in the United states hit 99,000 on Tuesday, a new record, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The situation is particularly dire in several Midwestern states, including Indiana and South Dakota.

Experts fear a new surge in the number of infections now that several days have passed since the Thanksgiving holiday, which saw millions of Americans travel to see loved ones despite recommendations to skip festive gatherings.

For now, the number of new daily infections is still high, but more or less consistent with the figures seen in recent weeks.

The United States regularly saw 2,000 deaths a day in the spring, but has hit the number several times in the past two weeks.

In total, the US now has registered more than 13.7 million coronavirus cases and more than 270,000 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

US first nation to cross 10 million COVID-19 cases

The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.

The grim milestone came on the same day as global coronavirus cases exceeded 50 million.

The United states has reported about a million cases in the past 10 days, the highest rate of infections since the nation reported its first novel coronavirus case in Washington state 293 days ago.

The country reported a record 131,420 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and has reported over 100,000 infections four times in the past seven days, according to a Reuters tally.

The U.S. latest reported seven-day average of 105,600 daily cases, ramped up by at least 29%, is more than the combined average for India and France, two of the worst affected countries in Asia and Europe.

More than 237,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the illness caused by the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year.

The daily average of reported new deaths in the United States account for one in every 11 deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis.

The number of reported deaths nationwide climbed by more than 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, a trend last seen in mid-August, according to a Reuters tally.

Health experts say deaths tend to increase four to six weeks after a surge in infections.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who spent much of his election campaign criticizing President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, pledged on Saturday to make tackling the pandemic a top priority.

Biden will announce a 12-member task force on Monday to deal with the pandemic that will be led by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler. The coronavirus task force will be charged with developing a blueprint for containing the disease once Biden takes office in January.

The Midwest remains the hardest-hit region based on the most cases per capita with North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska the top five worst-affected U.S. states.

Illinois emerged as the new epicentre in the Midwest, with the state reporting over 60,000 COVID-19 infections in the last seven days, the highest in the country, according to Reuters data. The state reported more than 12,454 new cases on Saturday, the highest single-day number so far.

Texas, which accounts for 10% of total U.S. cases, is the hardest-hit state and became the first to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday.

According to a Reuters analysis, the South region comprises nearly 43% of all the cases in the United States since the pandemic began, with nearly 4.3 million cases in the region alone, followed by the Midwest, West and Northeast.

New York, with over 33,000 fatalities, remains the state with highest number of deaths and accounts for about 14% of total U.S. deaths.

The United States performed about 10.5 million coronavirus tests in the first seven days of November, of which 6.22% came back positive, compared with 6.17% the prior seven-days, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

(Reporting by Anurag Maan and Shaina Ahluwalia in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)

-reuters-

The Latest: California tops New York for most virus cases

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s confirmed coronavirus cases have topped 409,000, surpassing New York for most in the nation.

Johns Hopkins University data shows California has about 1,200 more cases than New York.

However, New York’s 32,520 confirmed deaths outnumber California’s tally of nearly 8,000 deaths.

California is by far the most populous U.S. state, at nearly 40 million people, while New York has about 19.5 million.

Scientists say reported coronavirus cases vastly underestimate the true number of infections because of the small number of tests.

A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study says COVID-19 cases were more than 10 times higher than reported in most U.S. regions from late March to early May. It’s based on COVID-19 antibody tests performed on routine blood samples in 16,000 people in 10 U.S. regions that showed many with the virus antibody.

(The item has been corrected to show New York state has 32,520 confirmed deaths, according to a tally be Johns Hopkins University.)

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Brazil president still tests positive for virus

— Trump says virus in US will get worse before it gets better

— Crisis hits Lebanon’s hospitals, among the best in Mideast

— Silent spread of virus keeps scientists grasping for clues

— California’s confirmed coronavirus cases have topped 409,000, surpassing New York for most in the nation. However, California has nearly 8,000 deaths compared to New York’s 32,000.

— With the coronavirus rebounding in parts of Spain, it appears Catalonia and other regions have not adequately prepared to trace new infections in what was supposed to be an early detection system to prevent a new cascade of cases.

— More than one in five people in Delhi have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a study, indicating that most cases in the Indian capital region have gone undetected.

 Associated Press

US notches record 68,428 new virus cases in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday set yet another record for new coronavirus cases with 68,428 infections recorded in 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

In that period the death toll also climbed by 974 people, the Baltimore-based university's tracker showed at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Friday).

That brought the total death toll in the country since the pandemic began to 138,201, and the total number of cases to 3,560,364.

The US remains the hardest-hit country in the world in absolute terms.

Experts believe it never emerged from its first wave of infections, and cases have been surging again in recent weeks, particularly across the south and west in states that pushed to lift lockdown restrictions early.

Florida has emerged as the epicenter of the US outbreak, reporting a record 156 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday and nearly 14,000 new infections.

The total number of virus cases in the "Sunshine State" has now surpassed 315,000, and there have been 4,782 deaths, according to Florida Department of Health figures.

Florida is now reporting more COVID-19 cases daily than any other state in the country. California and Texas are next, with about 10,000 new cases a day each.

Agence France-Presse

US records more than 42,000 new virus cases in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins University tally

WASHINGTON - The United States recorded at least 42,000 coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tally showed Monday, as the country confronts a rapid surge in the disease.

The new infections, concentrated in southern and western states, bring the total number of infections in the US to nearly 2.6 million, according to the Baltimore-based institution at 8:30pm (0030 GMT Tuesday).


The number of daily US deaths in the world's largest economic power continues to decline however, with 355 deaths in 24 hours.

Several state governors have been forced to reimpose lockdowns on businesses such as restaurants and bars, though the White House blames the rise in cases to record levels largely on expanded testing and not community spread.

Agence France-Presse

US records 743 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

WASHINGTON, United States - The United States on Monday recorded 743 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, bringing its total to 105,099 since the global pandemic began.

The country has officially logged 1,809,109 cases of COVID-19, the tracker set up by the Baltimore-based university showed at 8:30 p.m. (0030 GMT Tuesday).

The death toll and number of cases in the United States are by far the worst in the world.

The virus has killed at least 373,439 people around the world since it appeared in late 2019 in China, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources.

In the United States, states have begun relaxing confinement measures intended to slow the spread of the virus in varying degrees.

But several major US cities have issued curfews in the face of violent protests sparked by the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last week after a white officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

Agence France-Presse

US records 820 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: tracker

WASHINGTON - The United States on Sunday recorded 820 new coronavirus fatalities in the previous 24 hours, but the country's total death count neared 90,000, a Johns Hopkins University tracker reported.

The latest toll, marked at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Monday), was the lowest since 776 daily deaths were recorded on May 10, but the count ranged as high as 1,894 in subsequent days.

According to the real-time tracker by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins, the United States has 1,486,376 cases of novel coronavirus.

That figure and the death toll are by far the world's highest.

Agence France-Presse

US records 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON - The United States recorded 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures reported Saturday night by Johns Hopkins University.

The country now has an overall death toll of 53,511, with 936,293 confirmed infections, according to a tally by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday).

The United States is by far the hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, in terms of both confirmed infections and deaths.

The toll of 2,494 was a jump from Friday, when the US recorded the lowest number of virus deaths -- 1,258 -- in nearly three weeks.

acb/ch

Agence France-Presse

More than 2,700 dead in US from coronavirus in last 24 hours

WASHINGTON - The coronavirus death toll in the United States -- the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic -- has climbed by 2,751 in the past 24 hours, the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University showed Tuesday.

The US has recorded more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Baltimore-based university, with 44,845 deaths.

Nearly 40,000 new cases were reported between Monday at 8:30pm local time, and Tuesday at the same time, the university said.

la/leo/to/dw

Agence France-Presse

US virus deaths pass 4,000: Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON - The total US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 4,000 early Wednesday, more than double the number from three days earlier, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of deaths was 4,076 -- more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday.

More than 40 percent of recorded deaths nationally were in New York state, the Johns Hopkins data showed.

On Tuesday the United States exceeded the number of deaths in China, where the pandemic emerged in December before spreading worldwide.

The number of confirmed US cases has reached 189,510, the most in the world, though Italy and Spain have recorded more fatalities.

After initially downplaying the threat from new coronavirus in the early stages of the US outbreak, President Donald Trump warned of "a very, very painful two weeks" to come for the country on Tuesday.

it/gle

Agence France-Presse

US has world's most confirmed coronavirus cases: trackers

NEW YORK - The United States now has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, according to data gathered both by Johns Hopkins University and The New York Times.

In reaching the grim milestone on Thursday, the country of 330 million people surpassed virus hotspots China and Italy.

Johns Hopkins said the US has 82,404 cases, while the Times said there were at least 81,321 people who tested positive for COVID-19.

Italy's declared caseload stood Thursday at 80,539 and China's at 81,285, according to an AFP tally.

American hospitals increasingly have reported being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases and 40 percent of Americans are under lockdown orders to prevent the spread of the illness.

At least 1,178 people have died of COVID-19 in the US, according to Johns Hopkins, including 100 in the past day in virus hotbed New York.

While fatalities remain higher elsewhere, experts say new infection numbers show that many more Americans will die -- and the true number of cases could be much higher than the official figure due to shortages of test kits.

The official count for the number of US coronavirus cases comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has lagged behind outside tallies. On Thursday evening the CDC listed 68,440 cases.

Agence France-Presse