COVID-19 Cases Near 5.5mn Worldwide

By Staff, Agencies

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide now stands at 5,495,061, with 346,232 cases having resulted in loss of life, according to the latest figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest data also indicated that the United States continues to lead the world by far in the number of infections and deaths — 1,662,302 and 98,220 respectively as of late Monday — with Brazil overtaking Russia to become the country with the second-highest infections of 374,898.

Russia, meanwhile, is leading Europe in the number of cases, at 353,427, followed by the UK’s 262,547.

The UK holds the world’s second-highest number of fatalities from the contagion, at the roughly 37,000 mark.

As a growing number of countries are loosening restrictions amid declining numbers of infections, the World Health Organization warned on Monday that countries showing declining COVID-19 cases might face an “immediate second peak” if they let up too soon on the measures to stop the epidemic.