Coronavirus cases topped 15 million worldwide on Wednesday, up from 10 million fewer than a month ago. The United States was a major contributor to the increase, with nearly 4 million confirmed cases reported since the start of the pandemic.
On June 28, there were 10,063,319 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 500,108 deaths reported globally, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday, July 22, a total of 15,000,424 confirmed cases and 617,832 deaths had been reported.
In the United States, there have now been more than 3.9 million confirmed cases, and more than 142,000 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.
The follow-up of the United States for the most confirmed cases is Brazil, with more than 2,159,654, and India with 1,193,078. No other country has exceeded one million confirmed cases.
Since Brazil’s first confirmed case of coronavirus in May, it has reported more than 1,000 deaths a day on average, a horrible plateau that has yet to tilt downward. In India, the drug Remdesivir, which has been shown to accelerate the recovery time for patients with coronavirus, has been scarce, leading to a nascent black market for medication.
Earlier this month, when 12 million cases were reported worldwide, the World Health Organization warned that if the cases continue to rise, the blockades across the country may not have ended.
“Once the blockages were over, there was always a risk that the disease could recover,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, at a press conference.
However, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted at the same press conference that compliance with strict containment plans has brought severe outbreaks to several countries. He listed Italy, where more than 35,000 people died from the uncontrolled virus, as in those countries.
“In all areas of life, we are all being tested to the limits,” Tedros said of the pandemic.
“The best option we have is to work together in national unity and global solidarity.”
According to Johns Hopkins data, four of the top five regions with the most coronavirus cases are US states. Sao Paulo, Brazil, currently leads the count with 422,669 confirmed cases, followed by California with 409,382 and New York with 408,886.
Confirmed California cases overtook New York for the first time on Wednesday.
New York is followed by Florida and Texas, who have 379,619 and 353,091 confirmed cases, respectively.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the date the number reached 15 million.
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