Global coronavirus cases cross 8 million mark
The US leads the world with the highest number of infections, about 2 million of all reported cases.
PARIS (Reuters) - Global cases of the novel coronavirus reached over 8 million on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America and the United States and China grapple with fresh outbreaks.
The United States still leads the world with the highest number of infections, about 2 million or 25% of all reported cases. However, the outbreak is growing fastest in Latin America, which now accounts for 21% of all cases, according to a Reuters tally.
Brazil’s COVID-19 cases and deaths have surged to make it the No.2 hot spot in the world.
The first case was reported in China in early January and it took until early May to reach 4 million cases. It has taken just five weeks to double to 8 million cases, according to a Reuters tally.
Global deaths stand at over 434,000 and have doubled in seven weeks.
Although Brazil’s official death toll from the pandemic has risen to nearly 44,000, the true impact is likely far greater than the data show, health experts said, citing a lack of widespread testing in Latin America’s largest country.
In the United States, which has over 116,000 deaths, testing is still ramping up months after the start of the outbreak.
After cases declined in much of the United States for weeks, many areas are now reporting record new cases and hospitalizations. Fears of a second wave in hard-hit states - or a failure to get a grip on the first wave in some others - have led health experts to plead with the public to wear masks, avoid large gatherings and maintain social distance.
China is also grappling with a resurgence of the virus just as its economy is trying to recover from shutdowns earlier this year. After nearly two months with no new infections, the capital Beijing has seen a spike in cases linked to the biggest wholesale food market in Asia.
The US accounts for more than a quarter of all cases, with 2,110,736 infections. It has 116,090 deaths.
Brazil is the next biggest hotspot, with 888,271 cases and 43,959 deaths.
Russia is third in terms of infections, with more than 530,000 cases. But the country has only recorded 7,081 deaths officially attributed to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Beijing has ramped up testing and reintroduced restrictions in some areas after a new cluster of cases in the capital linked to a wholesale food market. All indoor sports and entertainment venues in Beijing were shut down on Monday as authorities raced to contain the outbreak.
- Latin America and Caribbean pass 80,000 COVID-19 deaths -
Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday passed 80,000 COVID-19 deaths, more than half in Brazil as the virus accelerates across the region, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
Since the disease first spread in Latin America in March, a total of 80,505 deaths have been recorded, 43,959 of them in Brazil which has the world s second-highest number of fatalities after the United States.
The number of cases reported in Latin America and the Caribbean now stands at 1,681,378.
In Brazil, a country of 212 million, 888,271 people have been infected -- more than in all of Asia.
Mexico, which has a population of 120 million, has Latin America s second-highest death toll, with 17,141 fatalities out of 146,837 cases.
Peru has recorded 6,688 deaths while Chile, which has seen an acceleration in recent weeks, has nearly 180,000 cases and 3,362 deaths.
More than eight million cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide.
At least 8,000,202 infections including 435,176 deaths, mostly in Europe, have been registered since the pandemic first emerged in China late last year.
The number of confirmed cases likely represents only a fraction of the real number because most countries are only testing the most serious cases or have limited testing capacity.
