The number of confirmed Coronavirus cases globally topped 500,000 on Thursday, as infections spread to new parts of the advanced countries where officials struggled to get the epidemic under control.
United States of America and Italy became the global leaders in cases of the disease officially known as COVID-19. The tally in each country increased sharply above 80,000 cases, as several clusters of infections with no connection to the virus’s site of origin in China appeared.
The United States now has more Coronavirus cases than any other country with over 82,400, according to Johns Hopkins University.
There were more than 81,700 known cases in China and 80,500 in Italy.
Italy reported the highest death toll with more than 8,200 deaths.
While Italy’s football league matches have been suspended, officials sealed off towns to prevent additional local transmission, mirroring China’s decision to lock down Hubei Province. Local transmission also appears to be happening in other European countries such as Spain, Germany, UK, including South Korea and Iran.
Spain recorded 655 deaths from Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 4,089, the health ministry said on Thursday. The number of confirmed cases stands at 56,188.
The numbers offered a glimmer of hope a day after the country recorded one of the world’s highest single-day death tolls of the pandemic to date at 738, and its total figure eclipsed that of China as the number of cases worldwide passed 500,000 on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as the death toll, is continuing to climb in Germany. But large numbers of cases are still concentrated in certain areas.
Among Germany’s population of 83 million people, the number of confirmed infections grew to more than 41,500 on Thursday afternoon, March 26th, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Robert Koch Institute. The number of deaths connected to the virus stands at around 239.
The actual number of COVID-19 cases is thought to be higher. Depending on an individual state’s policies, many other possible cases may not have been tested because they show only mild symptoms or have not been in contact with a known case.
However, on Thursday, Christian Drosten, a Berlin-based senior virologist, said that Germany was carrying out an “extremely high number” of coronavirus tests, which meant experts were aware of more cases, including milder ones.
There are three parts of Germany which have been particularly badly affected – the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the southeastern state of Bavaria and the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.
As of Thursday afternoon, the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia had more than 10,900 cases – over a thousand more than the day before – and 75 deaths. Just over two weeks ago, on March 9th, the state had registered about 500 cases and the first two deaths in Germany due to coronavirus.
With nearly 18 million residents, North Rhine Westphalia is the most populous state in Germany so it is perhaps not a huge surprise that these are where the highest numbers are.
In the meantime, the number of coronavirus deaths in the UK has jumped by more than 100 in a day for the first time.
The death toll has risen from 475 to 578, health officials have confirmed, with 11,658 confirmed cases.
The latest figures came after Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled an aid programme to help the self-employed.
Over 120,000 people worldwide have recovered from COVID-19, while more than 23,000 people have died.
