This is according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which puts the total number of deaths globally at nearly 734,000. The number of global cases is probably much higher than the tally kept by Johns Hopkins because of testing limitations. As many as 40 percent of those with the virus show no symptoms.
A New York Times database shows that The United States leads all countries in cases, with 5.1 million, about 25 percent of all cases globally. More than 47,000 cases and more than 530 deaths were announced across the nation Monday. Worldwide, more than 200,000 new cases of coronavirus are being reported every day.
The high number of cases and deaths has resulted in a race to develop and deliver a vaccine, topping both worldwide public health and geopolitical agendas, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that any vaccine must be safe and available to all people, and not just the wealthy, according to the Associated Press.
On Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, acknowledged that “behind these statistics is a great deal of pain and suffering” and urged governments and citizens worldwide to do their part to suppress the virus, reports NPR.org.
Two essential elements to address the #COVID19 pandemic effectively:
1. Leaders must step up to take action
2. Citizens need to embrace key measuresIf we suppress the virus effectively, we can safely open up societies. pic.twitter.com/paBqikijzn
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 10, 2020
“I know many of you are grieving and that this is a difficult moment for the world,” he said. “But I want to be clear, there are green shoots of hope and no matter where a country, a region, a city or a town is – it’s never too late to turn the outbreak around.”
“Whether countries or regions have successfully eliminated the virus, suppressed transmission to a low level, or are still in the midst of a major outbreak,” he said. “Now is the time to do it all, invest in the basics of public health and we can save both lives and livelihoods.”
Two other countries besides the U.S. have cases numbering in the millions – Brazil with more than 3 million cases, and India, which hit the 2 million mark last week.They are followed by Russia, South Africa, Mexico and Peru.
Europe, which imposed strict lockdowns and the wearing of masks this spring, was able to bring the coronavirus under control, but after relaxing many restrictions, the virus has seen a resurgence – with Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain among the countries seeing cases rise.
