World reports 1 million COVID-19 cases in 100 hours

The global COVID-19 infections passed 14 million on July 17^th, 2020, according to a tally, marking the first time there has been a surge of 1 million cases in under 100 hours.

It may be mentioned that the first case was reported in China in early January and it took three months to reach 1 million cases. It has taken just four days to climb to 14 million cases from 13 million recorded on July 13^th, 2020.

India recorded the highest-ever daily spike of 34,884 COVID-19 cases and 671 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 1038716. The death toll is now 26273, as per data released by the Union Health Ministry. Active cases in India stand at 358692 while 653751 have been cured or discharged so far.

Also read: Assam records highest ever spike of 1218 COVID-19 cases

Among the states, Maharashtra is the first state to cross 6 thousand deaths. It has recorded 292589 corona cases with 160357 cured, 11452 deaths, and 120780 active cases. The western state is followed by Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Delhi has corona 120107 cases with 99301 cured, 3571 deaths, and 17235 active cases. Tamil Nadu has 160907 positive cases with 110807 cured, 2315 deaths 47785 active cases. Gujarat with 46430 COVID-19 cases, so far, has 32973 have been cured, 2106 deaths, and 11351 active cases.

The United States (US), with more than 3.6 million confirmed cases, is still seeing huge daily jumps in its first wave of COVID-19 infections. The US reported a daily global record of more than 77,000 new infections on Thursday, while Sweden has reported 77,281 total cases since the pandemic began.

Despite the surging cases, a cultural divide is growing in the country over wearing masks to slow the spread of the virus, a precaution routinely taken in many other nations.

US President Donald Trump and his followers have resisted a full-throated endorsement of masks and have been calling for a return to normal economic activity and reopening schools despite the surging cases.

Other hard-hit countries have flattened the curve and are easing lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of the novel virus while others, such as the cities of Barcelona and Melbourne, are implementing a second round of local shutdowns.

The number of cases globally is around triple that of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The pandemic has now killed more than 590,000 people in almost seven months, edging towards the upper range of yearly influenza deaths reported worldwide. The first death was reported on Jan. 10 in Wuhan, China before infections and fatalities then surged in Europe and later in the US.

The tally, which is based on government reports, shows the disease is accelerating the fastest in the Americas, which account for more than half the worlds infections and half its deaths.

In Brazil, more than 2 million people have tested positive including President Jair Bolsonaro, and more than 76,000 people have died.

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