WEB DESK
The worldwide number of deaths from the novel Coronavirus pandemic crossed to 1 lakh 12 thousand today, according to a tally compiled by different sources. 415,000 have been recovered so far.
More than 17 lakh 80 thousand since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 359,200 are now considered recovered.
The United States, which recorded its first death in late February, has registered the most deaths in the world with over 20 thousand 600 casualties and the infections beyond 5 lakh 30 thousand. Italy is the second worst-hit country with 19,468 deaths followed by Spain with 16,972.
The country with the highest number of cases is the US, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. With about 530,000 confirmed cases, it has more than six times the official number recorded in China.
China’s official death toll from the outbreak is just over 3,300 – but the US, Italy, Spain and France have each recorded more than 10,000 deaths.
Critics of the Chinese government, however, have questioned whether the country’s official numbers could be trusted.
Europe still struggling – but signs of hope?
European countries have seen steep rises in cases and deaths, but slowing infection rates are raising hopes that strict social distancing measures are curbing the spread of the virus.
Italy has the highest toll of any single country in the world, with more than 19,400 deaths so far, but recent data suggests the infection rate is slowing.
The majority of deaths have occurred in the northern Lombardy region, which contains the city of Milan. Hospitals there were reportedly at breaking point and retired doctors and nurses were asked to return to work.
Spain’s death toll rose to 16,606 by Sunday – the third highest of any country. There are now nearly 163,000 confirmed cases in Spain, but data shows the rate of new cases is falling.
The Spanish government has extended the state of emergency until 26 April to help curb the spread of the virus. Spaniards have been in lockdown since 14 March.
In Spain and the UK, deaths grew rapidly at first, doubling faster than every two days. That rate of increase has now slowed, as has the death rate in Italy.