Global coronavirus death toll surges past 500,000, with a quarter of fatalities in the US - while more than 10M have been infected worldwide
- On Sunday the number of global coronavirus deaths hit 500,306, surpassing half a million for the first time, while global infections exceeded 10million
- The US has recorded the most COVID-19 cases of any country in the world (2.5m)
- Brazil (1.3m), Russia (633,000), India (528,000) and UK (311,000) also hard hit
- In Brazil and India the number of confirmed cases has tripled in a month
- A leading British scientist said even these figures are 'underestimates'
The global coronavirus death toll exceeded half a million on Sunday as the number of worldwide cases surpassed a staggering 10million, marking the most devastating and destructive pandemic in a century.
On Sunday, June 28 the global number of reported fatalities stood at 500,306 by 6pm EST and the global number of infections was reported at 10,070,339, according to figures by Johns Hopkins University in the US pulled from data collected from governments around the world.
Over the past seven months more than five million people have recovered from the respiratory disease.
The two sobering milestones in the coronavirus crisis come as the US leads with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world with over 2.5million infections.
Following behind is Brazil with over 1.3million cases and Russia with over 633,000 cases.
Data collected from governments around the world by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US shows that the coronavirus has spread to almost every corner of the globe. By Sunday evening the global death toll surpassed 500,000
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the US has the highest number of COVID-19 infections with over 2.5million cases. Brazil, Russia, India and the UK follow behind in highest number of COVID-19 cases
India has the fourth highest number of infections with over 528,000 reported and the UK has the fifth highest with more than 312,000 cases.
The US also leads with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths with 125,747. About one in four of global COVID-19 deaths – more than 125,000 – have been reported in the US.
Brazil follows behind with over 57,000 deaths reported and the UK with nearly 44,000 deaths reported.
While the overall rate of death has flattened in recent weeks, health experts are now worried about record numbers of new cases in the US, India and Brazil.
More than 4,700 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19-linked illness, according to Reuters calculations based on an average from June 1 to 27. That equates to 196 people per hour, or one person every 18 seconds.
The dizzying numbers come as several states in the US including Florida, Texas and California have doubled down on closures and lockdown orders after there was a resurgence in infections when initial quarantine orders were lifted.
On Friday Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas shut down bars and limited restaurant dining due to a spike in cases.
'COVID-19 has taken a very swift and very dangerous turn in Texas over just the past few weeks,' he said.
Similarly in Florida, beaches will be closed again following a large spike in COVID-19 cases. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed the surge on interactions among young people.
On Sunday California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all bars to close immediately in seven counties across the state, including Los Angeles, due to a rapid spread of coronavirus over the past few weeks.
However, some states are seeing miraculous numbers and a slowing of the pandemic including in New York.
USA: EMT staff move a patient into an ambulance in front of Mt. Sinai Morningside Hospital on May 18 in New York City
Brazil: A COVID-19 patient is treated at the Oceanico hospital in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro on June 22. Brazil has the second highest global number of coronavirus cases with over 1.3million infections
China: A Chinese epidemic control worker wears a protective suit as she performs a nucleic acid swab test for COVID-19 on a woman at a government testing site in Xicheng District on June 24
The UK: Medical worker wearing a protective face mask and screen, disposable gloves and a plastic apron, takes a swap at a coronavirus drive-through testing center in the car park of the closed Chessington World of Adventures Resort theme park on May 1
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state reported just five coronavirus deaths on Saturday - the lowest seen since March 15. Just 616 of the state's almost 62,000 tests conducted Saturday resulted in positive diagnoses, a rate of 0.99 percent, Cuomo added.
During the state’s peak pandemic in April, nearly 800 people were dying every day.
New York still leads the nation in COVID-19 deaths with nearly 25,000 fatalities reported.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a leading scientist advising politicians in Britain, said even these harrowing global coronavirus figures are 'in reality both underestimates'.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the number of COVID-19 cases is more than double the number of severe flu cases the world would see in a normal year.
WHO announced Sunday another daily record in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the world - topping over 189,000 in a single 24-hour period. The tally eclipses the previous record a week earlier at over 183,000 cases, showing case counts continue to progress worldwide.
COVID-19 first appeared in China in January and has since spread to almost every country on Earth.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of British research charity the Wellcome Trust, and a member of government advisory group SAGE, said in a tweet that the figures were 'sobering'.
He wrote: 'More than 10 million confirmed cases and 500,000 deaths globally directly attributed to COVID19 in ~6 months. In reality both underestimates.
'Highly populated regions of [Central and South] America, South Asia, Africa not yet experienced full impact of 1st wave. Globally accelerating.'
The grim milestone comes as many hard-hit countries, including Britain, Italy and Spain, are easing lockdowns.
But they must embrace a new normal as they do this, with strict social distancing, working from home and restricted social lives in places for months more.
As much of the Western world appears to be recovering from the worst of the pandemic, other, poorer, nations are in the grip of fast accelerating outbreaks.
Brazil, Russia and India, which seemed to be spared disaster in the outbreak's early days, are all now at the mercy of the fast-spreading virus and have seen cases spiral out of control in recent weeks.
In Brazil and India cases have tripled in a month.
Brazil, a South American country home to 210million people, is now experiencing arguably the worst outbreak in the world after the total number of people to have had COVID-19 rocketed from 411,821 on May 28 to more than 1.31million today.
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