COVID-19 Cases Surge; Countries
Struggle To Avoid Second Deadly Wave
Missouri and Illinois a Contrast in Severity, Approach
EDWARDSVILLE - (RP News) - 10/19/2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to threaten the stability of countries around the world, including the United States, with the latest figures showing Europe and many other countries struggling to avoid a potentially devastating second wave amid a new surge in cases.
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| A graph of COVID-19 cases from statista. |
Citing data from the World Health Organization, Richter writes: “According to the World Health Organization, daily new cases hit a new high of 394,501 on October 17, with the seven-day average quickly approaching 350,000. While the high number of new cases is partly due to a steep increase in testing compared to a couple of months ago, the most recent surge in new infections, with Europe at the forefront, cannot be attributed to testing alone.”
The total number of people who have contracted COVID-19 worldwide has now topped 40 million, leading to 1.1 million deaths.
On Oct. 18, Illinois officials reported just over 3,100 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 new deaths in the state. Since the start of the crisis, the state has recorded 347,161 infections, and 9,236 deaths.
Illinois Gov. J.P. Pritzker expressed concern on Monday that the state could be facing a new wave of the virus, citing increasing hospitalizations and positivity rates.
Missouri, meanwhile, has been reporting record numbers and positivity rates. As reported in this AP story, the state logged a record number of COVID-19 cases this past Saturday, with 2,357 infections, and 1,768 cases on Sunday. Total cases statewide are at 156,696, with 2,582 deaths.
Nationwide, the United States has experienced more than 8.4 million infections leading to 224,159 deaths (4 percent). Roughly 5.49 million people (96 percent) have been discharged or have recovered.
