We collect cookies to analyze our website traffic and performance; we never collect any personal data.Cookies Policy
Accept
Michigan Post
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Michigan
  • World
  • Politics
  • Top Story
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economics
    • Real Estate
    • Startups
    • Autos
    • Crypto & Web 3
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Beauty
    • Art & Books
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Education
Reading: Covid Live Updates: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 300 Million
Share
Font ResizerAa
Michigan PostMichigan Post
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Michigan
  • World
  • Politics
  • Top Story
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economics
    • Real Estate
    • Startups
    • Autos
    • Crypto & Web 3
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Beauty
    • Art & Books
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Education
© 2024 | The Michigan Post | All Rights Reserved.
Michigan Post > Blog > World > Covid Live Updates: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 300 Million
World

Covid Live Updates: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 300 Million

By Editorial Board Published January 7, 2022 7 Min Read
Share
Covid Live Updates: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 300 Million
ImageA coronavirus testing center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday.
A coronavirus testing center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday.Credit…Agustin Marcarian/Reuters

It took more than a year for the world to record the first 100 million coronavirus cases, and half that time to tally the next 100 million.

The third 100 million came even faster, in barely five months, as large segments of countries, rich and poor alike, remain unvaccinated and a fast-spreading new variant has proved able to infect even those who are.

Case counts, though imperfect, have been a key barometer throughout the pandemic, a benchmark not only for governments implementing mitigation measures but also for people trying to discern the threat in their own communities. Yet surpassing 300 million known cases — a milestone that was reached on Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University — comes as a growing number of experts argue that it is time to stop focusing on case numbers.

So far, the new Omicron variant appears to produce severe illness in fewer people than previous versions of the virus did, and research indicates that Covid vaccines still offer protection against the worst outcomes. And though cases are rising faster than ever — the United States, Australia, France and many other nations are seeing record surges — hospitalizations and deaths from Covid are increasing more slowly.

But experts do worry that the sheer number of possible cases may still burden health care systems already strained by previous waves of infection.

1,500,000 cases

7–day average

1,966,759

Source: Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, U.S. state and local health agencies. Daily cases are the number of new cases reported each day. The seven-day average is the average of a day and the previous six days of data.

This week, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, suggested that it was time to stop focusing on case counts.

“As you get further on and the infections become less severe, it is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations,” Dr. Fauci told ABC News on Sunday.

About 60 percent of the world has received at least a single dose of a Covid vaccine, but nearly three-quarters of all the shots have been administered in the world’s wealthiest nations, leaving people in parts of Africa and Asia vulnerable.

In the United States, cases are averaging a staggering 610,000 each day, a 227 percent increase from two weeks ago. Hospitalizations are rising at a slower rate, up 60 percent in the past two weeks, while deaths are up by 2 percent. In France, average daily cases have quadrupled to a record, while hospitalizations have risen by about 70 percent and deaths have doubled, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.

The trend suggests that the grim cadence seen for the past two years — a wave of infections, followed by a matching surge of hospitalizations, then deaths — has been altered, in large part because of the protection offered by vaccines.

And because of the widening availability of at-home tests in the United States and Europe, official case numbers — which scientists have long argued are an undercount — may diverge more than ever from actual totals. Not all home tests are reported to authorities and many people may never get tested. Even before Omicron emerged, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that only one in four U.S. infections was reported.

  • Cases
  • Hospitalizations
  • Deaths

200% of last winter’s peak

About this data

Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hospitalizations).

Case numbers “definitely mean less than they did” earlier in the pandemic, said Robert West, a professor of health psychology at University College London. “If we had this number of infections then, we’d have had an astronomical number of deaths.”

Still, the known death toll remains devastating: more than 830,000 in the United States, 620,000 in Brazil, nearly half a million in India. In many developing nations with huge gaps in health data, the true number may never be known.

And Omicron’s impact could be harsher among populations with less protection from vaccines. Some of the fastest increases in cases are occurring in African countries, which have the lowest vaccination rates. Less than a handful of the countries on the continent are on track to meet a World Health Organization goal of administering two doses to 70 percent of their populations, even as rich nations have offered a third.

“Booster after booster in a small number of countries will not end a pandemic while billions remain completely unprotected,” the W.H.O. director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Thursday.

What is clear, many experts say, is that the virus is likely to become endemic, something that the world will have to live with for years to come, like the flu — and that by the time the world records case 400 million, as it surely will, that statistic will mean even less than it does now.

“I think when we had the first wave, a lot of people felt — not experts, but the public and many politicians felt — that if we could only weather the storm, we could come out the other side in the summer of 2020 and everything would be rosy,” Professor West said. “We know now that is never going to be true.”

Anna Schaverien contributed reporting.

— Shashank Bengali

TAGGED:The Washington Mail
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print

HOT NEWS

Market Speak – July 14, 2025 | Economics

Market Speak – July 14, 2025 | Economics

Economics
July 14, 2025
'Massive Boys’ Membership': 'The degradation of ladies'

'Massive Boys’ Membership': 'The degradation of ladies'

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — An unsettling tradition got here into focus as Megan Moryc settled…

July 14, 2025
Fmr. Metropolis of Jackson Mayor Martin Griffin dies at 63

Fmr. Metropolis of Jackson Mayor Martin Griffin dies at 63

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Former Metropolis of Jackson Mayor and State Consultant Martin Griffin has…

July 14, 2025
Metropolis financier Kolade joins ranks of Channel 4 chair contenders

Metropolis financier Kolade joins ranks of Channel 4 chair contenders

A number one financier and Conservative Social gathering donor is among the many contenders vying…

July 14, 2025
MLB Draft: Landon Hodge of Crespi goes to the White Sox within the fourth spherical

MLB Draft: Landon Hodge of Crespi goes to the White Sox within the fourth spherical

Landon Hodge, the Mission League participant of the 12 months from Crespi, was chosen with…

July 14, 2025

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Trump is clearly fed up with Putin – however will his shift in tone power Russia to the negotiating desk?

As ever, there may be confusion and key questions are left unanswered, however Donald Trump's announcement on Ukraine and Russia…

World
July 14, 2025

Air India airplane suffered ‘no mechanical fault’ earlier than crash, chief govt says in memo

A preliminary report into final month's deadly Air India crash discovered there was no mechanical or upkeep faults on board…

World
July 14, 2025

FIFA president Gianni Infantino celebrates Membership World Cup – however how a lot of the globe was watching?

The noise of critics drowned out by brashness and bombast, the Membership World Cup last was every part Gianni Infantino…

World
July 14, 2025

UK amongst 19 nations participating in Australia’s largest struggle train – as China anticipated to observe

A army train bringing collectively greater than 35,000 personnel throughout 19 completely different nations, together with the UK, is underneath…

World
July 14, 2025

Welcome to Michigan Post, an esteemed publication of the Enspirers News Group. As a beacon of excellence in journalism, Michigan Post is committed to delivering unfiltered and comprehensive news coverage on World News, Politics, Business, Tech, and beyond.

Company

  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • Accessibility Statement

Contact Us

  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability

Term of Use

  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices

© 2024 | The Michigan Post | All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?