The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide reached 10 million on Sunday, while the global death toll rose to nearly 500,000, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of global cases marks a major milestone in the spread of the virus, believed to have originated in China late last year. However, with evidence still limited in some corners of the world, the actual number of global cases could be significantly higher.
The United States continues to lead the world in the number of confirmed cases with more than 2.5 million and a death toll of 125,929, according to a count by NBC News.
Vice President Mike Pence postponed planned campaign appearances in Arizona and Florida next week “as a precaution” due to virus spikes in those states.
Florida health officials reported a new daily record of more than 9,500 new cases Saturday. South Carolina, Nevada and Georgia also reported daily case records. Meanwhile, the state of Washington halted its return to normalcy due to an increasing number of cases and concerns about the continued spread of the virus.
Brazil and Russia are behind the United States, with almost two million cases between them.
Meanwhile, in India, which has the world’s fourth-largest outbreak, confirmed cases have exceeded 500,000, data from the Federal Ministry of Health showed on Saturday, with infections on the rise in major cities, including the capital, New Delhi. .
Iran, one of the countries hardest hit at the start of the pandemic, launched a campaign on Saturday to motivate a public reluctant to wear face masks as the country faces a sharp increase in infections and deaths from the coronavirus. Since restrictions on the spread of the stalk virus have been gradually lifted since mid-April across the country, cases have increased again. Some 2,456 new cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours, totaling 220,180, the country’s health officials said, according to Reuters.
The virus continues to spread even as several European countries are easing closure measures to give their economies a boost after months of restrictions. Some, like Germany, are seeing a resurgence of the virus, forcing local governments to reimpose partial blockades.
Meanwhile, Swiss authorities said on Saturday that they had ordered 300 people to quarantine after an outbreak of the so-called “super lord” at a Zurich nightclub.
China’s capital Beijing saw a new COVID-19 outbreak linked to a food market earlier this month, sparking a wave of testing, travel restrictions and contact tracing. But officials there say the outbreak has been largely controlled, despite 14 new cases being reported in the city on Sunday. Tens of millions of Chinese traveled during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival that ended on Saturday, with overcrowding measures in place across the country.
Reuters contributed
