Coronavirus tracked: Global deaths hit 1m as more than 70 countries see accelerating case rates

Countries where new Covid-19 cases are rising now outnumber countries where infection rates are falling

(The Independent)

Global coronavirus deaths have passed 1 million, less than nine months after the first Covid-19 case was officially recorded.

The grim milestone comes as many countries are seeing a renewed surge in new infections.

More than 50 countries are currently in the midst of a still-swelling second wave. A further 22 countries are yet to see an end to the rising cases of the first wave.

At least three countries appear to be experiencing a third wave of the deadly virus.

While the case count accelerates, the death toll continues to steadily climb at a rate of around 5,000 deaths per day.

After originating in China in late 2019, Asia and then Europe initially saw the quickest spread of Covid-19 in early 2020.

By April, cases in the United States were growing exponentially and the number of deaths soon overtook every other country in the world.

With more than 200,000 deaths, the US now accounts for around a fifth of all coronavirus-related deaths globally.

The emergence of a severe second wave in dozens of countries has seen global cases rise by around 10 million over the last month.

It also means that the countries where Covid-19 cases are accelerating now outnumber the countries where the infection rate is falling.

There are currently more than 70 countries that are seeing an upward trend in new cases, compared to just over 50 where daily cases are falling. 

The remainder are either seeing no significant change in daily numbers, or the data is insufficient.

Some countries, like the US, are yet to see a significant enough drop in new case numbers to classify the current rising daily numbers as a second or third wave. 

However, several European countries that were badly hit in March and April are now seeing a distinct second wave.

For places like France and Spain, the second wave is proving even worse than the first.

While most countries are seeing fluctuations in daily case numbers, globally the figure is yet to fall since February when China introduced strict lockdown measures to contain the virus.

The rapid global spread now means there are close to 300,000 new cases reported each day around the world, with more than a million new infections added to the total every four days.

Despite the accelerating rate of new cases, the number of daily deaths has remained relatively constant since April. 

This could be partly attributed to the roll out of mass testing, which tends to pick up more asymptomatic cases, as well as the better preparedness of hospitals to deal with coronavirus patients.