Global COVID-19 cases top 9 million as WHO urges ‘careful and creative’ reopening

The IFEMA center in Madrid, Spain, was converted into the largest field hospital in Europe. 

GENEVA, Switzerland

The number of COVID-19 infections globally has surpassed the 9 million mark, according to the latest data from U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The figure comes as the World Health Organization warns that the number of new daily cases is worryingly on the rise.

The data shows that death toll from the disease has now exceeded 468,000.

The United States remains the most affected country by the pandemic, having recorded 2,286,457 infections and 120,036 deaths as of Monday afternoon.

The figures represent 25.4% of the world’s infections and 25.6% of the global fatalities.

Other than the U.S., Brazil is the only other country that has recorded more than one million infections, standing at 1,083,341 as of Monday afternoon.

In his briefing on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom urged countries to “be careful and creative in finding solutions that enable people to stay safe while getting on with their lives.”

“It seems that almost every day we reach a new and grim record. Yesterday, more than 183,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported to WHO – easily the most in a single day so far,” he noted.

Adhanom also noted that the fight against the disease had received a boost following the recent findings that the steroid dexamethasone has life-saving potential for critically ill COVID-19 patients.

He called for an increase in production and distribution of the steroid with a focus on the most affected regions.

But he also warned against using the drug to people who were not critically ill.

“WHO emphasizes that dexamethasone should only be used for patients with severe or critical disease, under close clinical supervision. There is no evidence this drug works for patients with mild disease or as a preventative measure, and it could cause harm,” he said. - Africa