Global coronavirus deaths top 50,000, led by Italy & Spain, as nearly 1mn diagnosed – Johns Hopkins University

The total number of deaths attributed to the coronavirus pandemic has soared past 50,000 globally as cases inch toward the 1 million mark, with Italy and Spain leading other nations in mortality.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed 50,230 people worldwide as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Italy leads the world in virus-related mortality, with 13,915 deaths, while Spain has also suffered disproportionately, counting 10,003 deaths.

Meanwhile, the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus continues to climb, with Johns Hopkins reporting 981,221 confirmed cases as of Thursday. The US leads the world in total number of cases, though its mortality rate is considerably lower than Italy or Spain, which have the next largest numbers of cases at 115,242 and 110,238, respectively.

Europe and the US’ coronavirus epidemics have long since dwarfed the number of cases in China, where the epidemic is believed to have originated and where early intervention coupled with sweeping quarantines and lockdowns managed to partially contain the infection within Hubei province. Beijing has reported hardly any new cases in weeks.

While Italy was quick to put first the north and then the entire country under lockdown, its people experienced a high fatality rate regardless – although the country’s health authority discovered even as the casualty numbers continued to rise that the vast majority of the deaths were in patients who were otherwise ill.  

Washington’s response, on the other hand, has been criticized for inexplicable delays, both in testing and in efforts to quarantine the sick. While much of the country is now under lockdown, the Centers for Disease Control’s botched rollout of its coronavirus test proved immensely frustrating to state authorities, some of whom were forced to turn to private companies for testing.

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