JED DAH The worldwide death toll from Covid-19 has passed the 100,000 mark, three months after the new coronavirus killed a 61- year-old Chinese man from Wuhan on January 9. More than 1.7 million declared cases have been registered in 193 countries. The sad milestone came as Christians around the globe marked a Good Friday unlike any other — in front of computer screens instead of in church pews. A tally by Agence France Presse news agency placed the global death toll at 1900 GMT on Friday at 103,000 people, citing official figures. According to WHO report 1,07961 Corona affectees have died, 1,761647 are confirmed cases while 397445 have recovered. First Asia, then Europe in March and now the United States have each, in turn, become the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced more than half of humanity into ockdown. Despite sometimes draconian confinement measures, the number of daily deaths has accelerated across the globe. In the last eight days, more deaths were registered than in the preceding 84 days. Of more than 1.6 million declared cases, at least 335,900 are considered recovered. Italy and Spain are the two European countries hardest hit with 18,849 and 15,843 deaths respectively. But there appear to be the first glimmers of hope — after a peak of nearly a thousand deaths in 24 hours, on March 27 in Italy and on April 2 in Spain, the daily figures seem to have reached a plateau and are slowly starting to come down. In the last 24 hours, Italy has recorded 570 dead and Spain 605. US deaths due to the coronavirus have surpassed 19,600, the highest reported number in the world, according to a Reuters tally, although th ere are signs the pandemic might be nearing a peak. Italy has the second most reported deaths at 19,468 and Spain is in third place w ith 16,353. The United States has five times the population of Italy and nearly seven times the population of Spain. The number of coronavirus cases recorded in the United States surged past 500,000 late Friday, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins University. The US has led the world in the number of infections since the end of March. With more than a third of all officially declared cases globally, it threatens to overtake Europe, which has recorded more than 850,000 cases. The epidemic in the US cut a widening swath through not just New York City but the entire three-state metropolitan area of 20 million people connected by a tangle of subways, trains and buses. Nevertheless, the situation is continuing to get worse in others. In Britain, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back on his feet to recovery from Covid-19, the nation recorded its deadliest day yet with 980 more deaths, taking the country’s overall toll to nearly 9,000. Saudi Arabia announced 364 new cases, 19 recoveries and three deaths. The overall case count has now reached 3,651, with 2,919 active cases; 57 of them are now in the intensive care unit, while 685 were treated and 47 have died. The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization, probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are only testing the most serious cases. Others do not have a policy of large-scale testing when resources are severely lacking, as in Africa.— Agencies
