Global cases of COVID-19 exceed 60 million

The number of accumulated COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 60 million,11 months after China reported the first suspicious case on Dec. 31 last year. The growth of cases continues as the northern hemisphere enters the winter season and as the situations in the United States and India, top countries in the world, worsen. 　

According to Worldometer, the number of accumulated cases around the world as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday exceeded 60.1 million. Ever since the number reached 10 million on June 28 this year, it took around one month to climb to the next 10 million, recording 20 million on Aug. 10, 30 million on Sept. 15, 40 million on Oct. 18 and 50 million on Nov. 8. The pace of the disease spreading has accelerated, however, taking only 17 days to go from 50 million to 60 million. 　

CNN reported on Tuesday that the number of confirmed cases which recently surpassed 12.95 million in the U.S. may reach 20 million by Jan. 20 next year when President-elect Joe Biden official takes office. Around 3.1 million new cases occurred across the country since the start of the month, estimated to reach 4 million by the end of November, suggesting that around 7 million cases may further occur until the new president takes office next year.


jyr0101@donga.com