World hits Grim Milestone Of 20million Reported Coronavirus Cases

The world has hit the grim milestone of 20 million confirmed coronavirus cases and is edging closer to 750,000 deaths globally, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Case numbers have soared exponentially since the first were reported in China in December.

The world recorded one million cases more than three months later, on April 2. The tally hit 10 million cases less than three months after that, on June 28, and it has taken just six weeks to double.

The seven-day average for new daily cases has been above a quarter of a million for two weeks.

The rise in cases remains driven in large part by the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as by Asia, where cases are growing again, according to the JHU figures. Death rates remain highest in the former.

Brazil has recorded more than three million cases and 100,000 deaths, second only to the United States, which is by far the worst affected country with more than five million cases and 160,000 deaths.

India has the third-highest number of cases at more than two million, reaching the milestone just three weeks after hitting one million.

The country is struggling to cope with the fast-growing outbreak, with critically ill patients turned away from hospitals that lack beds, staff and equipment.

---CNN