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REUTERS: Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 40 million on Monday (October 19), according to a Reuters tally, as the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere fueled a resurgence in the spread of the disease.
The Reuters count is based on official reports from individual countries. Experts believe that the actual number of cases and deaths is likely to be much higher, given poor testing and possible underreporting from some countries.
Reuters data shows that the pace of the pandemic continues to increase. It only took 32 days to go from 30 million global cases to 40 million, compared to the 38 days it took to go from 20 to 30 million, 44 days from 10 to 20 million, and the three months it took to reach 10 million. cases since the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China, in early January.
Record one-day increases in new infections were seen late last week, with global coronavirus cases rising above 400,000 for the first time.
There was an average of about 347,000 cases per day during the past week, compared to 292,000 in the first week of October.
The United States, India and Brazil remain the worst affected countries in the world. COVID-19 cases in North, Central, and South America account for about 47.27 percent or nearly half of global cases.
About 247 cases are seen for every 10,000 people in the United States. For India and Brazil, those figures stand at 55 cases and 248 cases per 10,000 people, respectively.
New cases are growing to more than 150,000 per day in Europe, as many countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, Cyprus and the Czech Republic, have reported record daily increases in the number of infections by coronavirus.
LEE: Europe exceeds 250,000 deaths from COVID-19
Europe currently accounts for more than 17 percent of global cases and nearly 22 percent of virus-related deaths worldwide.
Parts of the UK were blocked when Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an offer to contain a second wave of infections through local measures.
France imposed curfews, while other European nations are closing schools, canceling surgeries and recruiting medical students.
President Donald Trump called for a huge economic stimulus as infections in the United States surpassed eight million, with record peaks in several states.
Midwestern states are experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, with new infections and hospitalizations rising to record levels.
India’s cumulative coronavirus infection count stood at 7.43 million on Saturday, and the number of active infections fell below 800,000 for the first time in 1.5 months.
Iran, the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the coronavirus, extended restrictions and closures in the capital Tehran to a third week on Saturday as its death toll rose above 30,000.
Since the pandemic began, more than 1.1 million people have died from COVID-19, and the global death rate is around 2.8 percent of all cases.
A World Health Organization official has said that the global death toll from COVID-19 could double to 2 million before a successful vaccine is widely used and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic.
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