
Recorded cases of SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday passed the 600 million mark worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
As of 8:20 p.m., University of Baltimore figures showed 600,449,934 infections had been recorded since the virus emerged in China in late 2019.
At the same time, deaths due to COVID-19 were 6,485,233.
The US, with 94,184,146 cases and 1,043,838 deaths from the infection caused by the virus, remains the country in the world that has suffered the worst blow from the pandemic. They account for almost 16% of cases and deaths. It is the first and only country to date that has exceeded 1 million deaths due to COVID-19.
India has the second highest number of cases (44,398,696), followed by France (34,662,834). Other countries with more than 20 million cases are Brazil, Germany, Britain, South Korea and Italy, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Experts believe that the true number of victims of the coronavirus pandemic around the world is much worse. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated earlier this year that the number of victims of the pandemic, directly or indirectly, is probably closer to 15 million dead.