(Reuters) – The global death toll from coronavirus exceeded 800,000 on Saturday, according to a Reuters census, with the United States, Brazil and India leading the rise in deaths.
Nearly 5,900 people die on average every 24 hours from COVID-19, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the past two weeks ending on Friday.
That equates to 246 people per hour, if one person every 15 seconds.
The death toll remains stable, and it takes 17 days to go from 700,000 to 800,000 dead – the same time it lasted from 600,000 to 700,000.
The U.S. death toll rose to 170,000 on Sunday, the highest in the world. While the number of new cases falls from a peak in July, the country still sees more than 360,000 new cases per week.
Many public schools and universities reopened classrooms for students despite positive test rates of nearly 20% in some parts of the country. Less than a week after welcoming students, some schools have switched to learning online only through a spike in infections.
In India, the second most popular country in the world, COVID-19 deaths fell 50,000 on Monday, five months after the country reported its first death toll from coronavirus.
India is only the third country, behind Brazil and the United States, to record more than 2 million infections. It has a relatively low death rate of 1.9%, compared to the world average of 3.5%, but that may be due to underreporting.
Suitability mortality rates are about 3% in the United States and Brazil.
Health experts have sounded the alarm that Brazil and the United States do not yet have a coordinated plan to combat the pandemic, as many officials are focusing on reopening schools and businesses, which is likely to exacerbate the outbreak.
The Brazilian cause of death of COVID-19 ran through 100,000 on August 8 and continues to climb, as most Brazilian cities reopen shops and restaurants, although the pandemic has not yet peaked there.
Report by Lisa Shumaker; Edited by Aurora Ellis
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