"Global COVID-19 Death Toll Expected to Surpass 5.3 Million by the End of This Year"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] It is projected that the global cumulative death toll from COVID-19 will exceed 5.3 million by the end of this year.

According to Bloomberg News on the 6th (local time), the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at Washington State University in the U.S. expects that the official global COVID-19 death toll will surpass 5.3 million by December. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current global COVID-19 death toll is approximately 4.3 million.

The institute forecasted that due to the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the number of COVID-19 deaths worldwide will peak in early next month and then gradually decline. Including unofficially recorded deaths beyond the official count, the institute expects the global cumulative COVID-19 death toll to exceed 12 million by the end of this year.

Currently, the world is experiencing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the Delta variant. In particular, in the United States, the number of confirmed cases and hospitalizations has surged to the highest levels since last winter. According to the Associated Press (AP), the 7-day average of daily new cases in the U.S. was about 107,100.

The AP reported, "Recently, the COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated people, especially in southern Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.