Global Covid cases surge past 39 million


FE Team | Published: October 17, 2020 10:27:00 | Updated: October 17, 2020 11:42:26


- Reuters file photo used for representation

The confirmed global coronavirus cases surpassed 39 million as of Saturday, according to the latest tally of Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The total caseload reached 39,247,785 while the fatalities from the virus were recorded 1,103,352 in the morning, the JHU latest data shows.

The United States has recorded 218,529 deaths followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain, UNB reports.

Besides, the number of coronavirus infections in the United States has reached 8,045,090.

By far, the United States remains the world's worst-hit nation, with the most cases and deaths.

US Covid-19 cases topped 5 million on August 9, hit 6 million on August 31, and exceeded 7 million on September 25.

Multiple regions across the United States have seen days of continuous high-level surge in new cases after entering October.

With the second highest caseload of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) globally, India has recorded 7,370,468 cases with 112,161 fatalities.

Besides, Brazil is the third worst-hit country with 5,200,300 confirmed cases and 153,214 deaths.

‘Remdesivir doesn’t help Covid patients’

A large study, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), suggests that the antiviral drug Remdesivir did not help hospitalised Covid-19 patients, in contrast to an earlier study that made the medicine a standard of care in the United States and many other countries.

The results announced on Friday do not negate the previous ones, and the WHO study was not as rigorous as the earlier one led by the US National Institutes of Health. But they add to concerns about how much value the pricey drug gives because none of the studies have found it can improve survival.

The drug has not been approved for Covid-19 in the US, but it was authorised for emergency use after the previous study found it shortened recovery time by five days on average. It is approved for use against Covid-19 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and is among the treatments US President Donald Trump received when he was infected earlier this month.

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