Coronavirus deaths top 800,000 globally

More than 800,000 people globally have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, a grim milestone underscoring the physical toll the pandemic has taken on nations around the world.

The U.S. has reported the most deaths tied to COVID-19 of any country at more than 175,000, with more than 32,000 of those in New York, nearly 16,000 in New Jersey and almost 12,000 in California. Other states with high death tolls include Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Globally, Brazil follows the U.S. with more than 113,000 deaths tied to COVID-19 as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins. The South American nation has led every country except the U.S. in coronavirus cases and related deaths since June.

Other nations that have reported high death tolls amid the pandemic include Mexico at nearly 60,000, India at more than 55,000 and the United Kingdom at nearly 41,500.

China, where the virus originated late last year, has officially reported 89,616 cases and 4,709 deaths from the illness, though U.S. officials have said they think Beijing has undercounted its total cases and deaths.

While India currently is fourth globally in the total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths, it has faced a precipitous rise in cases recently, surpassing every other country in a five-day average of new daily cases.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the number of coronavirus cases has ticked down recently in a number of states, though it has been on the rise over the past week at least in states such as Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza or COVID-19 was 7.8 percent for the week ending Aug. 15. That is lower than the previous week’s 12.6 percent, but the CDC cautioned it “remains above the epidemic threshold and will likely increase as more death certificates are processed.”