Global coronavirus cases inch closer to a million, US leads with over 2 lakh COVID-19 infections

NEW DELHI: Despite several measures taken by the governments world over, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and fatalities due to the deadly virus has seen a rapid escalation in the past 24 hours, with over 1 lakh new cases reported across the globe. The global number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is slowing edging towards a million and number of fatalities nearing the 50,000-mark as the outbreak continues to ravage nations such as the United States, Italy, France and Spain.

According to the data provided by the Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by over 1 lakh from 8 to 9 lakh in just past 24 hours. The spread of the deadly virus, since it first originated in China, has reached 205 countries now, it said. More than 900,000 cases of coronavirus have been officially detected worldwide since the pandemic emerged in China late last year, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of now, there are 937,170 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 47,235 fatalities globally.

According to the latest figures, the US has crossed 2 lakh and Spain 1 lakh. Meanwhile, Italy crossed 1 lakh cases on Wednesday evening. The US now has 216,515 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 5,119 deaths. Italy with 110,574 detected cases has the highest number of fatalities with 13,155 deaths. Spain has 102,136 cases, including 9,053 deaths and China has 81,554 cases and 3,312 deaths.

The death toll from COVID-19 in the US jumped by 884 over the past 24 hours, setting a new one-day record for the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has launched an all-out war to defeat the "horrible" coronavirus. The World Health Organization too said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned about the near-exponential escalation of the new coronavirus pandemic, with the number of deaths doubling in a week.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged citizens around the globe to stand together to fight COVID-19, as he braced for the millionth confirmed case. "As we enter the fourth month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection," he told a virtual news conference.

"Over the past five weeks, we have witnessed a near exponential growth in the number of new cases, reaching almost every country. The number of deaths has more than doubled in the past week. In the next few days we will reach one million confirmed cases and 50,000 deaths," he said.

Since emerging in China in December, COVID-19 has spread across the globe, claiming more than 43,000 lives, and infecting more than 860,000 people, according to an AFP tally of officially confirmed cases. The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 30,000 people in Europe alone. Italy and Spain account for three in every four deaths on the continent.

However, the virus is expected to gain a greater foothold in parts of the world that have not, so far, seen such large numbers of cases and deaths. "While relatively lower numbers of confirmed cases have been reported from Africa, and from Central and South America, we realise that COVID-19 could have serious social, economic and political consequences for these regions," Tedros warned.

"It is critical that we ensure these countries are well equipped to detect, test, isolate and treat COVID-19 cases, and identify contacts."

A safe vaccine is thought to be 12 to 18 months away, while WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan stressed, "There is no therapy that has been proven to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19."

As regards the use of face masks, the WHO recommends that those people who are infected and health workers who care for them should use medical masks.