NEW YORK: Global Covid-19 cases surpassed 70 million on Friday (Saturday in Manila), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The global case count reached 70,025,535, with a total of 1,590,323 deaths worldwide as of 4:28 p.m. Friday (7:28 a.m. in Manila, Saturday), the CSSE data showed.
The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 15,758,661 and 293,785, respectively. India recorded 9,796,769 cases, ranking second in the world.
Brazil followed India with 6,781,799 cases and 179,765 deaths, the world’s second largest death toll.
Countries with more than 1.8 million cases also include Russia, France, Britain and Italy while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy, France and Iran, according to the CSSE tally.
Global cases hit 50 million on November 8 and topped 60 million on November 25. It took 17 days for the global caseload to jump from 50 million to 60 million, and 16 days from 60 million to 70 million.
The US remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 18 percent of global cases. On Thursday, the US identified 224,452 new cases, the second highest single-day rise in new cases since the pandemic began.
Thursday also marked the second deadliest day in the US with 2,934 daily deaths since the onset of the pandemic, the CSSE chart showed.
In the wake of the Thanksgiving surge, US experts cautioned the public to stay alert and follow guidelines while celebrating the upcoming winter holidays.
In related news, the United States could start injecting the first Americans with the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by Monday, December 14, the country’s health secretary said.
Alex Azar told news channels that final details were being ironed out after an expert committee convened by regulators voted to grant the two-dose regimen emergency approval for people aged 16 and over.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement Friday saying it had told Pfizer it would now “rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization.”
Azar told ABC News that authorities were working with Pfizer on logistics and “we could be seeing people get vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week.”
“So, it’s very close. It’s really just the last dotting of I’s and crossing of T’s,” he added. Those outstanding matters include getting a fact sheet ready for doctors, Azar told Fox Business