(Reuters) – According to a Reuters version, global cases of coronavirus exceeded 100 million on Wednesday, as countries around the world are struggling 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 new coronavirus, and more than 2.1 million people have died.
One person has been infected every 7.7 seconds since the beginning of the year. Approximately 668,250 cases were reported each day during the same period and the global mortality rate is 2.15%.
The countries worst affected – the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom – account for more than half of all COVID-19 cases, but represent 28% of the world population, according to a Reuters analysis.
It took the world 11 months to record the first 50 million cases of the pandemic, compared to just three months for cases doubling to 100 million. (Graphics: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
About 56 countries have started vaccinating people against the coronavirus, which has administered at least 64 million doses. Israel leads the world on per capita vaccination, vaccinating 29% of its population 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 accounts for only 4% of the world population. The United States leads the world with the daily average number of new deaths reported, and is responsible for one in five deaths reported worldwide. With just under 425.00 deaths, the United States reported nearly twice as many deaths as Brazil, which has the second highest death toll in the world.
As the region worst affected in the world, Europe currently reports about one million new infections every four days and has reported nearly 30 million since the pandemic began. Britain reached 100,000 deaths on Tuesday.
The Eastern European region, including countries such as Russia, Poland and Ukraine, contributes up to 10% of all global COVID-19 cases.
Despite securing early transactions for vaccine supplies, many European countries are experiencing delays in shipping both Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc
ASIA AND AFRICA
In India, the country with the second highest number of cases, infections are declining, with almost 13,700 new infections being reported on average every day – about 15% of the peak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that India was completely dependent on the vaccination of coronavirus vaccines, as the world’s second most populous country had vaccinated more than 1 million people within a week of launching its campaign.
China, which recently celebrated the first anniversary of the world’s first closure of the coronavirus in central Wuhan city, is facing its worst spate of local cases since March last year.
As richer countries advance mass vaccination campaigns, Africa is still running out of supplies as it grapples with concerns about more contagious variants of the virus first identified in South Africa and Britain.
According to the Reuters version, African countries have nearly 3.5 million cases and more than 85,000 deaths.
The South African variant, also known as 501Y.V2, is 50% more contagious and has been detected in at least 20 countries.
US President Joe Biden will impose a ban on most non-US citizens entering the country this past Saturday in an effort to curb the distribution of a new variant of COVID-19 contains.
Australia and New Zealand fared better than most other developed economies during the pandemic due to rapid border closures, closures, strict hotel quarantine for travelers and widespread testing and social distance.
“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; Edited by Lisa Shumaker and Jane Wardell