Global COVID-19 cases surpass 60 million

Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 60 million on Wednesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The global case count reached 60,037,735, with a total of 1,413,325 deaths worldwide as of 12:27 p.m. local time (1727 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 12,642,245 and 260,591, respectively. India recorded 9,222,216 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 6,118,708 cases and 170,115 deaths, the world’s second largest death toll.

Countries with more than 1.5 million cases also include France, Russia, Spain and Britain, while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy and France, according to the CSSE tally.

Global cases topped 40 million on Oct. 19, and hit 50 million on Nov. 8.

It took 20 days for the global caseload to jump from 40 million to 50 million, and only 17 days from 50 million to 60 million.

The United States remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of global cases.

On Tuesday, the United States identified 172,935 new cases, marking the 22nd consecutive day that the country had reported more than 100,000 new cases.

U.S. medical professionals and experts feared the case number will continue to surge after the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Source: New York/John Hopkins University/Xinhua