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The number of Covid-19 cases reported around the world has exceeded 25 million, with the United States, Brazil and India leading the grim tally, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The coronavirus has killed more than 843,000 people around the world since it emerged from Wuhan, China, late last year, with America reporting most of the deaths. The United States, Mexico and Brazil account for more than 40% of the world’s death toll, according to Johns Hopkins.
Reported Covid-19 cases first topped 10 million at the end of June, then hit 20 million just over six weeks later, on Aug. 10, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
“This virus is going to be with us for a while. Without a vaccine, it will be with us for years,” said Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization and regional director for the Americas of the World Health Organization, during a briefing on Tuesday. “Reopening does not mean the fight is over.”
Some European countries have started to report a recent resurgence of cases. French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the virus has spread rapidly among young people, forcing the government to intervene. Castex said France “must do everything possible to avoid re-confinement,” the Associated Press reported Thursday.
Infections in Spain, which has the highest case count among European countries, have risen to nearly 440,000 cases since the country lifted its shutdown in late June, according to Hopkins.
The United States continues to struggle with the world’s worst outbreak and the highest reported case count, although the growth of new cases appears to be stabilizing after a summer of escalating outbreaks.
The United States reported an average of 42,000 new infections a day over the past week, a decrease of more than 3.0% compared to the previous week, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data. New cases in the US peaked at 67,317 daily cases on July 22, based on an average of seven days, after a resurgence of coronavirus cases swept through the Sun Belt states in June and July.
“The current plan (wear a mask, watch your distance, wash your hands, supplemented by smart testing, in line with state plans, surge testing, and extreme technical assistance from CDC and our craft teams) continues to deliver results, “said the Assistant Health Secretary, Admiral Brett Giroir, told reporters on a conference call last week.
However, health officials are concerned that the coronavirus could spread to the heart of the United States. As of Sunday, cases were growing by 19% or more in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, recently told Dr. Howard Bauchner of the Journal of the American Medical Association that there are worrying signs in the center of the country where cases appear to be stabilizing but not decreasing. Redfield said the area “is stagnating,” which is cause for concern as seasonal flu threatens to overwhelm hospitals and cause preventable deaths.
“We don’t need to have a third wave in the heart right now,” he said. “We need to prevent that, particularly as we approach fall.”
The United States is preparing to distribute a vaccine, expected early next year, as part of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. Health officials have said that “normalcy” cannot be returned until a vaccine is distributed.
On Wednesday, the CDC proposed guidelines on who would receive the first doses once a candidate vaccine is approved, prioritizing healthcare workers, essential personnel and vulnerable Americans, such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the initial supply of vaccine doses is expected to be limited and will not be widely available to Americans until “several months” in 2021. The federal government has spent billions on vaccine development, securing a minimum of 800 million doses as soon as vaccines are licensed later this year or early next.
Russia registered a vaccine, called “Sputnik V,” on Aug. 11, although scientists warn that its candidate has only undergone phase one and phase two clinical trials and not large human trials to demonstrate the vaccine’s efficacy. Russia said it would begin phase three testing in August.
– CNBC Want fire, Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Holly ellyatt contributed to this report.
