The largest continent Asia exceeded 10 million new COVID infections on Saturday. As per Reuters, this the second-highest regional toll in the world, as COVID cases continue to rise in India despite a slowdown and sharp decline elsewhere.
Asia, after Latin America, accounts for nearly one-fourth of the total global caseload of 42.1 million infections. With over 1,63,000 casualties, Asia accounts for some 14% of the worldwide coronavirus toll.
The aforementioned data is based on official reporting by the countries. As experts say, the real numbers of cases and deaths are likely much higher, given deficiencies in testing and potential underreporting in many countries.
Within this region, South Asia led by India is the worst affected, with nearly 21% of the reported global coronavirus cases and 12% of deaths. This contrasts with countries like China and New Zealand that have crushed infections and Japan, where COVID-19 had been stubbornly entrenched but not accelerating.
India is the worst-hit country in the world after the US, although infections are slowing in the world’s second-most populous country. According to Reuters, India is reporting more than 57,000 cases of the virus in a day, viewed on a weekly average, with 58 new cases per 10,000 people. There is an average of 764 COVID-19 deaths in a day, the worst in the world, and accounting for one in every 13 global pandemic deaths.
India has reported nearly 7.8 million infections, behind the US tally of 8.5 million, and nearly 118,000 deaths, versus 224,128 in the United States. Unlike the recent surge in the US, India’s slowdown saw the lowest daily caseload in nearly three months on Wednesday.
But doctors fear that infections may surge again in India with a holiday approaching and winter bringing more severe pollution from farmers burning stubble, worsening the breathing difficulties that many COVID patients suffer.
Source: Reuters
