The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that its “best estimates” indicate that up to 10 percent of the global population may have already been infected with COVID-19.
“Our current best estimates tell us about 10% of the global population may have been infected by this virus,” Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergency expert, said.
“It varies depending on country, it varies from urban to rural, it varies depending on groups. But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk,” Ryan said. “We are now heading into a difficult period. The disease continues to spread.”
The announcement comes as nearly 8 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and more than 215,000 people have died in the United States. Globally, more than 35 million people have been diagnosed with the virus and more than 1 million have died. It’s worth noting that many authoritarian nations, like China, have been widely criticized over the statistics they have reported regarding the outbreaks in their countries, as officials have said that they believe those nations might be covering up the severity of their outbreaks.
The Washington Post added the following update about COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.:
The average daily death toll had declined from more than 2,000 per day in April to a low of 463 per day in early July. But as people began to resume more normal activities, new covid-19 cases soared, and deaths soon followed.
By August the virus was killing an average of more than 1,000 people each day.
Health officials anticipated the rise in deaths because the disease had been accelerating through populous Sun Belt states such as Texas, Florida and California for weeks. In late August and September, the nation’s most severe hot spots sprung up across the Midwest.
In other pandemic-related news, President Donald Trump was released from Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday evening after a brief stay following two positive tests that confirmed that he had the virus.
“I just left Walter Reed Medical Center, and it’s really something very special—the doctors, the nurses, the first responders—and I learned so much about coronavirus” Trump said in a video message posted to his Twitter account. “And one thing that’s for certain, don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment; we have the best medicines—all developed recently—and you’re gonna beat it.”
“We’re the greatest country in the world,” Trump continued. “We’re going back, we’re going back to work, we’re gonna be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it, but I had to do it. I stood out front; I led. Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did, and I know there’s a risk, there’s a danger, but that’s okay. And now I’m better and maybe I’m immune, I don’t know.”
“But don’t let it dominate your lives,” Trump concluded. “Get out there, be careful. We have the best medicines in the world, and it all happened very shortly, and they’re all getting approved, and the vaccines are coming momentarily. Thank you very much—and Walter Reed, what a group of people. Thank you very much.”