Covid-19: New fear grips Europe as cases top 30m worldwide

  • Published
A girl wears a mask in Bangalore, India. Photo: 16 September 2020Image source, EPA
Image caption,
The virus appears to be spreading much faster in India than any other country

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the globe has surpassed 30 million, according to figures by America's Johns Hopkins University.

More than 940,000 have died with Covid-19 since the outbreak began in China late last year.

The US, India and Brazil have the most confirmed cases, but there is a renewed spike in infections across Europe.

Many northern hemisphere countries are now bracing for a second wave of the pandemic as winter approaches.

In the UK, the government is considering taking further England-wide measures including a short period of restrictions to try to slow a second surge of infections.

Outside Europe, Israel brings in a second nationwide lockdown later on Friday - the first nation to do so.

Africa has recorded more than a million confirmed cases, although the true extent of the pandemic in the continent is not known. Testing rates are reported to be low, which could distort official figures.

What is happening in key countries?

A team of infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins University, in the US city of Baltimore, have been documenting the global spread of Covid-19 on its tracking website.

According to their data, the US remains by far the worst-hit country in terms of sheer numbers, with more than 6.6 million confirmed infections, and over 197,000 deaths.

The number of new daily infections has been dropping, though, after a spike in July.

Media caption,

CDC director vs President Trump on face masks and vaccines

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump denied downplaying the seriousness of Covid-19, despite admitting in a recorded interview to having done that.

In India, the number of known infections climbed above five million this week - the second-highest caseload in the world.

When comparing figures from different countries it is important to bear in mind factors such as population size and density. For instance, India has a population of 1.3bn people.

However, the virus appears to be spreading much faster in India than any other country, with daily cases topping 90,000 in recent days. More than 80,000 people have died, amid reports of shortages of intensive care beds and oxygen supplies.

Brazil has had more than 4.4 million confirmed cases, with more than 134,000 fatalities - the second-highest death toll after the US.

Media caption,

Bolsonaro removed his mask after announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus

President Jair Bolsonaro has come under criticism for downplaying coronavirus, particularly after attending an anti-lockdown rally. The right-wing leader - who had been calling the virus a "little flu" - himself tested positive in July.

Argentina and Mexico have also been hit hard by the outbreak in Latin America.

Argentina on Thursday reported nearly 13,000 more cases over a 24-hour period, pushing the country's overall total above 600,000.

Meanwhile, Mexico confirmed more than 3,000 daily infections, bringing the caseload to more than 680,000.

At the same time, deaths per 100,000 people vary significantly from country to country, with San Marino, Peru and Belgium having the highest rates, and India one of the lowest.

In the table below, countries can be reordered by deaths, death rate and total cases. In the coloured bars on the right-hand side, countries in which cases have risen to more than 5,000 per day are those with black bars on the relevant date.

data in detail

Scroll table to see more data

*Deaths per 100,000 people

US 1,012,833 308.6 87,030,788
Brazil 672,033 318.4 32,535,923
India 525,242 38.4 43,531,650
Russia 373,595 258.8 18,173,480
Mexico 325,793 255.4 6,093,835
Peru 213,579 657.0 3,640,061
UK 177,890 266.2 22,232,377
Italy 168,604 279.6 18,805,756
Indonesia 156,758 57.9 6,095,351
France 146,406 218.3 30,584,880
Iran 141,404 170.5 7,240,564
Germany 141,397 170.1 28,542,484
Colombia 140,070 278.3 6,175,181
Argentina 129,109 287.3 9,394,326
Poland 116,435 306.6 6,016,526
Ukraine 112,459 253.4 5,040,518
Spain 108,111 229.6 12,818,184
South Africa 101,812 173.9 3,995,291
Turkey 99,057 118.7 15,180,444
Romania 65,755 339.7 2,927,187
Philippines 60,602 56.1 3,709,386
Chile 58,617 309.3 4,030,267
Hungary 46,647 477.5 1,928,125
Vietnam 43,088 44.7 10,749,324
Canada 42,001 111.7 3,958,155
Czech Republic 40,324 377.9 3,936,870
Bulgaria 37,260 534.1 1,174,216
Malaysia 35,784 112.0 4,575,809
Ecuador 35,745 205.7 913,798
Belgium 31,952 278.2 4,265,296
Japan 31,328 24.8 9,405,007
Thailand 30,736 44.1 4,534,017
Pakistan 30,403 14.0 1,539,275
Greece 30,327 283.0 3,729,199
Bangladesh 29,174 17.9 1,980,974
Tunisia 28,691 245.3 1,052,180
Iraq 25,247 64.2 2,359,755
Egypt 24,723 24.6 515,645
South Korea 24,576 47.5 18,413,997
Portugal 24,149 235.2 5,171,236
Netherlands 22,383 129.1 8,203,898
Bolivia 21,958 190.7 931,955
Slovakia 20,147 369.4 2,551,116
Austria 20,068 226.1 4,499,570
Myanmar 19,434 36.0 613,659
Sweden 19,124 185.9 2,519,199
Kazakhstan 19,018 102.7 1,396,584
Paraguay 18,994 269.6 660,841
Guatemala 18,616 112.1 921,146
Georgia 16,841 452.7 1,660,429
Sri Lanka 16,522 75.8 664,181
Serbia 16,132 232.3 2,033,180
Morocco 16,120 44.2 1,226,246
Croatia 16,082 395.4 1,151,523
Bosnia and Herzegovina 15,807 478.9 379,041
China 14,633 1.0 2,144,566
Jordan 14,068 139.3 1,700,526
Switzerland 13,833 161.3 3,759,730
Nepal 11,952 41.8 979,835
Moldova 11,567 435.2 520,321
Israel 10,984 121.3 4,391,275
Honduras 10,906 111.9 427,718
Lebanon 10,469 152.7 1,116,798
Australia 10,085 39.8 8,291,399
Azerbaijan 9,717 96.9 793,388
North Macedonia 9,327 447.7 314,501
Saudi Arabia 9,211 26.9 797,374
Lithuania 9,175 329.2 1,162,184
Armenia 8,629 291.7 423,417
Cuba 8,529 75.3 1,106,167
Costa Rica 8,525 168.9 904,934
Panama 8,373 197.2 925,254
Afghanistan 7,725 20.3 182,793
Ethiopia 7,542 6.7 489,502
Ireland 7,499 151.8 1,600,614
Uruguay 7,331 211.8 957,629
Taiwan 7,025 29.5 3,893,643
Belarus 6,978 73.7 982,867
Algeria 6,875 16.0 266,173
Slovenia 6,655 318.7 1,041,426
Denmark 6,487 111.5 3,177,491
Libya 6,430 94.9 502,189
Latvia 5,860 306.4 837,182
Venezuela 5,735 20.1 527,074
Palestinian Territories 5,662 120.8 662,490
Kenya 5,656 10.8 334,551
Zimbabwe 5,558 38.0 255,726
Sudan 4,952 11.6 62,696
Finland 4,875 88.3 1,145,610
Oman 4,628 93.0 390,244
Dominican Republic 4,383 40.8 611,581
El Salvador 4,150 64.3 169,646
Namibia 4,065 163.0 169,247
Trinidad and Tobago 4,013 287.7 167,495
Zambia 4,007 22.4 326,259
Uganda 3,621 8.2 167,979
Albania 3,502 122.7 282,690
Norway 3,337 62.4 1,448,679
Syria 3,150 18.5 55,934
Nigeria 3,144 1.6 257,637
Jamaica 3,144 106.6 143,347
Kosovo 3,140 175.0 229,841
Cambodia 3,056 18.5 136,296
Kyrgyzstan 2,991 46.3 201,101
Botswana 2,750 119.4 322,769
Montenegro 2,729 438.6 241,190
Malawi 2,646 14.2 86,600
Estonia 2,591 195.3 580,114
Kuwait 2,555 60.7 644,451
United Arab Emirates 2,319 23.7 952,960
Mozambique 2,212 7.3 228,226
Mongolia 2,179 67.6 928,981
Yemen 2,149 7.4 11,832
Senegal 1,968 12.1 86,382
Cameroon 1,931 7.5 120,068
Angola 1,900 6.0 101,320
Uzbekistan 1,637 4.9 241,196
New Zealand 1,534 31.2 1,374,535
Bahrain 1,495 91.1 631,562
Rwanda 1,460 11.6 131,270
Ghana 1,452 4.8 166,546
Singapore 1,419 24.9 1,473,180
Eswatini 1,416 123.3 73,148
Madagascar 1,401 5.2 65,787
DR Congo 1,375 1.6 91,393
Suriname 1,369 235.5 80,864
Somalia 1,361 8.8 26,803
Guyana 1,256 160.5 67,657
Luxembourg 1,094 176.5 265,323
Cyprus 1,075 89.7 515,596
Mauritius 1,004 79.3 231,036
Mauritania 984 21.7 60,368
Martinique 965 257.0 195,912
Guadeloupe 955 238.7 168,714
Fiji 866 97.3 65,889
Tanzania 841 1.4 35,768
Haiti 837 7.4 31,677
Bahamas 820 210.5 36,101
Réunion 812 91.3 422,769
Ivory Coast 805 3.1 83,679
Laos 757 10.6 210,313
Malta 748 148.8 105,407
Mali 737 3.7 31,176
Lesotho 699 32.9 33,938
Belize 680 174.2 64,371
Qatar 679 24.0 385,163
Papua New Guinea 662 7.5 44,728
French Polynesia 649 232.4 73,386
Barbados 477 166.2 84,919
Guinea 443 3.5 37,123
Cape Verde 405 73.6 61,105
French Guiana 401 137.9 86,911
Burkina Faso 387 1.9 21,044
Congo 385 7.2 24,128
Saint Lucia 383 209.5 27,094
Gambia 365 15.5 12,002
New Caledonia 313 108.8 64,337
Niger 310 1.3 9,031
Maldives 306 57.6 182,720
Gabon 305 14.0 47,939
Liberia 294 6.0 7,497
Curaçao 278 176.5 44,545
Togo 275 3.4 37,482
Nicaragua 242 3.7 14,690
Grenada 232 207.1 18,376
Brunei 225 51.9 167,669
Aruba 222 208.8 41,000
Chad 193 1.2 7,426
Djibouti 189 19.4 15,690
Mayotte 187 70.3 37,958
Equatorial Guinea 183 13.5 16,114
Iceland 179 49.5 195,259
Channel Islands 179 103.9 80,990
Guinea-Bissau 171 8.9 8,369
Seychelles 167 171.1 44,847
Benin 163 1.4 27,216
Comoros 160 18.8 8,161
Andorra 153 198.3 44,177
Solomon Islands 153 22.8 21,544
Antigua and Barbuda 141 145.2 8,665
Bermuda 140 219.0 16,162
South Sudan 138 1.2 17,722
Timor-Leste 133 10.3 22,959
Tajikistan 125 1.3 17,786
Sierra Leone 125 1.6 7,704
San Marino 115 339.6 18,236
St Vincent and the Grenadines 114 103.1 9,058
Central African Republic 113 2.4 14,649
Isle of Man 108 127.7 36,463
Gibraltar 104 308.6 19,633
Eritrea 103 2.9 9,805
Sint Maarten 87 213.6 10,601
Liechtenstein 85 223.6 17,935
Sao Tome and Principe 74 34.4 6,064
Dominica 68 94.7 14,852
Saint Martin 63 165.8 10,952
British Virgin Islands 63 209.8 6,941
Monaco 59 151.4 13,100
Saint Kitts and Nevis 43 81.4 6,157
Burundi 38 0.3 42,731
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba 37 142.4 10,405
Turks and Caicos Islands 36 94.3 6,219
Cayman Islands 29 44.7 27,594
Samoa 29 14.7 14,995
Faroe Islands 28 57.5 34,658
Bhutan 21 2.8 59,824
Greenland 21 37.3 11,971
Vanuatu 14 4.7 11,389
Kiribati 13 11.1 3,236
Diamond Princess cruise ship 13 712
Tonga 12 11.5 12,301
Anguilla 9 60.5 3,476
Montserrat 8 160.3 1,020
Wallis and Futuna Islands 7 61.2 454
Palau 6 33.3 5,237
Saint Barthelemy 6 60.9 4,697
MS Zaandam cruise ship 2 9
Cook Islands 1 5.7 5,774
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1 17.2 2,779
Falkland Islands 0 0.0 1,815
Micronesia 0 0.0 38
Vatican 0 0.0 29
Marshall Islands 0 0.0 18
Antarctica 0 11
Saint Helena 0 0.0 4

Please update your browser to see full interactive

This information is regularly updated but may not reflect the latest totals for each country.

** The past data for new cases is a three day rolling average. Due to revisions in the number of cases, an average cannot be calculated for this date.

Source: Johns Hopkins University and national public health agencies

Figures last updated: 5 July 2022, 08:59 BST

The new coronavirus first came to light after China reported a cluster of infections in the city of Wuhan in December 2019. It has come under fire for being slow to acknowledge the outbreak, allowing gatherings to take place even as concerns grew and punishing doctors for warning others.

It has since been praised for effectively slowing the spread of the virus, after imposing a massive lockdown and increasing hospital capacity. It has so far confirmed 90,000 cases and 4,700 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins, although there have been concerns of underreporting.

What is the situation in Europe?

Surging coronavirus figures on the continent should serve as "a wake-up call", the World Health Organization's regional director has said.

Speaking in Copenhagen on Thursday, Hans Kluge said in the past two weeks the number of new cases had doubled in more than half of European member states.

He said that 300,000 new infections were reported across Europe last week alone and weekly cases had exceeded those reported during the first peak in March.

According to the WHO, there have been five million confirmed cases and more than 228,000 fatalities across Europe since the pandemic began.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

A number of countries and companies are piling resources into finding a vaccine that is safe and effective.

President Trump has recently said a vaccine might be available before the 3 November presidential elections - despite warnings from a number of health experts that this is unrealistic.

Image source, Reuters

But experts warned that the trials were too small to prove effectiveness and safety.

No vaccine has yet completed clinical trials, leading some scientists to fear politics rather than health and safety is driving the push for the possible cure.

There are also concerns that the race to get a vaccine will be won by the richest countries, at the expense of the most vulnerable.

At the same time, more than 150 different drugs are being researched to identify treatments for people with severe Covid-19.

Of all the drugs being trialled, only steroids have been proven to save lives and the discovery has been a significant breakthrough.

The UK's Recovery trial showed the steroid dexamethasone cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and by a fifth for those on oxygen.

And further data suggests another steroid, hydrocortisone, is equally effective too.