NEW YORK, Dec 12 (NNN-Xinhua) — Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 70 million on Friday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The global case count reached 70,025,535, with a total of 1,590,323 deaths worldwide as of 4:28 p.m. local time (2128 GMT), the CSSE data showed.
The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 15,758,661 and 293,785, respectively. India recorded 9,796,769 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 6,781,799 cases and 179,765 deaths, the world’s second largest death toll.
Countries with more than 1.8 million cases also include Russia, France, Britain and Italy while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy, France and Iran, according to the CSSE tally.
Global cases hit 50 million on Nov. 8 and topped 60 million on Nov. 25. It took 17 days for the global caseload to jump from 50 million to 60 million, and 16 days from 60 million to 70 million.
The United States remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 18 percent of global cases.
On Thursday, the United States identified 224,452 new cases, the second highest single-day rise in new cases since the pandemic began. Thursday also marked the second deadliest day in the United States with 2,934 daily deaths since the onset of the pandemic, the CSSE chart showed.
In the wake of the Thanksgiving surge, U.S. experts cautioned the public to stay alert and follow guidelines while celebrating the upcoming winter holidays. Enditem
GERMANY: The daily COVID-19 infections and deaths kept climbing in Germany and reached new highs on Friday, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
Germany reported a record 29,875 new infections within one day, pushing the total to over 1.27 million, according to the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.
The country’s new COVID-19 deaths increased by 598, also a record high, bringing the total to 20,970.
The COVID-19 incidence in the last seven days reached a new record at 156 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany on Friday, according to the RKI. At the beginning of November when Germany entered the partial lockdown, the 7-day incidence stood at around 120.
In view of rising infections, there is an ongoing discussion in Germany about a hard lockdown over the Christmas holidays. Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to meet with the minister presidents of the federal states on Sunday to discuss stricter nationwide measures.
With the highest 7-day incidence of 313, the eastern German state of Saxony already announced a hard lockdown. Starting next Monday, schools, day-care facilities and non-essential shops will be closed.
BELARUS: The country reported 1,967 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest number of daily infections to date, taking its nationwide tally to 156,359, according to the country’s health ministry.
A total of 1,845 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 133,930, the ministry added.
So far, 1,246 COVID-19 patients have died since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, including eight over the past 24 hours, it said.
As of Friday, 3,548,306 tests for the virus have been conducted across the country, including 31,290 over the past 24 hours, according to official figures. — NNN-XINHUA
