Global COVID-19 Cumulative Cases Reach 500 Million

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 500 million. The number of confirmed cases increased by 100 million in just over two months due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

According to the international statistics site Worldometer as of 7 a.m. on the 13th, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide is 507,882,10. The death toll stands at 6,208,552. Since surpassing 400 million in early February, an additional 100 million infections have been recorded. However, during the same period, the number of deaths increased by about 428,800, representing a 7% increase.

The sharp rise in confirmed cases is due to the emergence of Omicron, which is more contagious than previous variants such as Delta. When Omicron was first reported to the international community at the end of November last year, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide was around 200 million. However, as it rapidly spread across countries, the cumulative number of confirmed cases more than doubled in just over four months.

Currently, in 68 countries worldwide including South Korea, the stealth Omicron (BA.2), a subvariant of Omicron, is the dominant strain. However, new sub-recombinant variants continue to emerge. So far, 17 recombinant variants have been identified, including XE, XG, and XH. The first XL confirmed case was reported domestically yesterday.

By country, the United States ranks first with 82,117,711 cases, India is second with 43,037,388 cases, and Brazil is third with 30,183,929 cases. These three countries account for more than 31% of the total cases.

The cumulative death toll is highest in the United States with 1,012,756 deaths, followed by Brazil (661,493), India (521,746), Russia (372,245), and Mexico (323,727).

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