COVID-19 Deaths Top 700,000 Globally; US Leads With Almost 157,000

The global COVID-19 death toll has now surpassed 700,000, with the U.S. leading the world in total deaths at over 156,800, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

The death count is a stark reminder of the impact of the coronavirus as nearly 5,900 people are dying from the virus every 24 hours on average, data from Reuters said. The data also suggests that this accounts for a COVID-19 death about every 15 seconds.

The U.S. has over 4.77 million positive cases of the coronavirus, also surpassing any other country in the world in total coronavirus cases, according to the university. Falling behind the U.S. in total confirmed cases of the coronavirus is Brazil at over 2.8 million positive cases and India at over 1.9 million positive cases – both countries where the number of coronavirus cases is continuing to grow.

Trailing the U.S. in total COVID-19 deaths are Brazil, with over 95,800 COVID-19 deaths, and Mexico, which has reported over 48,800 COVID-19 deaths. The U.K., India, and Italy are next with over 46,200, over 39,700, and over 35,100 COVID-19 deaths, respectively.

In an interview with Axios, which aired on Monday, President Trump said the coronavirus is under control as much as it can be in the U.S.

He said, “They are dying, that’s true. It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague.”