Worldwide deaths go up
The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed half a million people on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, a grim milestone for the global pandemic that seems to be resurgent in some countries even as other regions are still grappling with the first wave.
The respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus has been particularly dangerous for the elderly, although other adults and children are also among the 501,000 fatalities and 10.1 million reported cases.
More than 4,700 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19-linked illness, according to Reuters calculations based on an average from June 1 to 27.That equates to 196 people per hour, or one person every 18 seconds.
About one-quarter of all the deaths so far have been in the United States, the Reuters data shows. The recent surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of Southern and Western states that reopened earlier and more aggressively. U.S. officials on Sunday reported around 44,700 new cases and 508 additional deaths.
Case numbers are also growing swiftly in Latin America, on Sunday surpassing those diagnosed in Europe, making the region the second most affected by the pandemic, after North America.
Australia looks at new Social distancing measures
Australia’s second most populous state is considering re-imposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months.
Victoria said it has detected 75 cases in the past 24 hours – enough to make it Australia’s biggest daily outbreak since April 11. The growing figures have stoked fears of a second wave in Australia after several weeks of fewer than 20 new cases a day and come as the global death toll from the virus tops half a million people.
