EUROPE’S COVID CASES DOUBLE IN 5 WEEKS, SURPASS 10M

Europe’s new COVID-19 cases have doubled in five weeks, propelling the region across the bleak milestone of 10 million total infections, according to a Reuters tally, Shaina Ahluwalia and Anurag Maan reported.

Just last month, both Latin America and Asia reported over 10 million total cases in their regions. The United States alone has over 9 million cases with a rapidly accelerating outbreak. While Europe almost took nine months to record its first 5 million COVID-19 cases, the next 5 million cases were reported in slightly over a month, according to a Reuters analysis. 

With 10% of the world’s population, Europe accounts for about 22% of the global caseload of 46.3 million infections. With over 269,000 deaths, the region accounts for some 23% of the global COVID-19 death toll of nearly 1.2 million lives lost. Amid the surging cases, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have announced nationwide lockdowns for at least the next month that are almost as strict as the restrictions in March and April. Portugal has imposed a partial lockdown and Spain and Italy are tightening restrictions. 

According to Reuters analysis, Europe has reported more than 1.6 million new cases in the past seven days, nearly half the 3.3 million reported worldwide, with over 16,100 deaths, a 44% jump over the previous week.