23 July

The global coronavirus pandemic continues to gain steam, with infections topping 15 million.

Data compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the United States show that 15,016,440 cases around the world were reported as of 18:00 UTC on Wednesday. The global death toll has reached 610,000.

Coronavirus infections began to explode outside China, the epicenter of the virus, after the World Health Organization announced on January 14 a pneumonia outbreak in China could be linked to a new type of virus.

The number of global infections reached the 5 million mark on May 21, or about four months later.

The figure had doubled to 10 million by June 28.

The pandemic has continued to accelerate since, with new cases reaching the 15 million threshold less than a month later.

Record single-day increases have been renewed on a near daily basis in July. Over 250,000 cases were confirmed on July 16.

The resumption of economic activities has been blamed for the infection surge in countries with the highest number of cases, including the United States and Brazil.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on July 13 that "too many countries are headed in the wrong direction."

He also warned that "if governments do not roll out a comprehensive strategy focused on suppressing transmission and saving lives, the pandemic is going to get worse and worse and worse."

NHK