(Reuters) – Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters count, as countries around the world grapple with new virus variants and vaccine shortages.
Nearly 1.3% of the world’s population is now infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and more than 2.1 million people have died.
Since the beginning of the year, an average of one person has been infected every 7.7 seconds. During the same period, about 668,250 cases were reported daily and the global mortality rate stands at 2.15%.
The hardest hit countries – the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom – account for more than half of all reported COVID-19 cases, but represent 28% of the world’s population, according to a Reuters analysis.
It took the world 11 months to register the first 50 million cases of the pandemic, compared to just three months for the cases to double to 100 million. (Image: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
About 56 countries have begun to vaccinate people against the coronavirus, administering at least 64 million doses. Israel leads the world in per capita vaccinations, with 29% of the population inoculated with at least one dose.
UNITED STATES
With more than 25 million cases, the United States has 25% of all reported COVID cases, although it makes up only 4% of the world’s population. The United States is the world leader in the daily mean number of new deaths reported, accounting for one in five deaths reported daily worldwide. With just under 425,000 deaths, the United States has reported nearly twice as many deaths as Brazil, which has the second highest death toll in the world.
As the worst affected region in the world, Europe is currently reporting one million new infections approximately every four days, and nearly 30 million since the start of the pandemic. Britain reached 100,000 dead on Tuesday.
The Eastern European region, including countries such as Russia, Poland and Ukraine, contributes to nearly 10% of all global COVID-19 cases.
Despite negotiating deals for vaccines in the beginning, many European countries are experiencing shipping delays from both Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc.
ASIA AND AFRICA
In India, the country with the second highest number of cases, infections are on the decline, with an average of nearly 13,700 new infections per day – about 15% of the peak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that India was completely self-sufficient in the supply of coronavirus vaccines, as the second most populous country in the world vaccinated more than 1 million people within a week of starting its campaign.
China, which recently marked the first anniversary of the world’s first coronavirus confinement in the central city of Wuhan, is facing the worst wave of local cases since last March.
As wealthier nations race ahead with mass vaccination campaigns, Africa is still struggling to secure supplies as it grapples with concerns about more contagious variants of the virus first identified in South Africa and Britain.
According to the Reuters census, African countries have nearly 3.5 million cases and more than 85,000 deaths.
The South African variety, also known as 501Y.V2, is 50% more contagious and has been found in at least 20 countries.
US President Joe Biden will ban most of the non-US citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa from Saturday in an effort to limit the spread of a new variant of COVID-19.
Australia and New Zealand outperformed most other developed economies during the pandemic through rapid border closures, lockdowns, strict hotel quarantine for travelers, and widespread testing and social distancing.
“We have the virus under control here in Australia, but we want to roll out the vaccine,” Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg told a news conference on Sunday.
Reporting by Shaina Ahluwalia and Roshan Abraham in Bengaluru; Adaptation by Lisa Shumaker and Jane Wardell