Coronavirus claiming 1 life every 15 seconds; global tally crosses 7 lakh

President Donald Trump said the coronavirus outbreak is as under control as it can get in the US, where more than 1,55,000 people have died amid a patchy response to the public health crisis

New York: The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 7,00,000 on Wednesday (August 5), with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise in fatalities.

Nearly 5,900 people are dying every 24 hours from COVID-19 on average, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the past two weeks. That equates to 247 people per hour, or one person every 15 seconds.

President Donald Trump said the coronavirus outbreak is as under control as it can get in the US, where more than 1,55,000 people have died amid a patchy response to the public health crisis that has failed to stem a rise in cases. “They are dying, that’s true,” Trump said in an interview with the Axis news website. “It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague.”

Latin America surpassed Europe on Tuesday to become the region with the highest novel coronavirus death toll. The region has now recorded more than 2,06,000 deaths, approximately 30% of the global total. Brazil, the Latin American country most affected by the coronavirus, had recorded a total of 95,819 deaths as of Tuesday. Mexico, the second-most hit country in the region, has 48,869 deaths. Outbreaks have also accelerated in Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

Australia, Japan, Bolivia, Hong Kong, Sudan, Belgium and Israel all recently had record rise in cases. Australia also reported a record number of new deaths on Wednesday, taking the country’s total to 247. The state of Victoria reported 725 new cases and 15 deaths, its highest numbers so far. New restrictions in the state mean essential workers must now carry a permit before leaving home.