Let me be very clear: this should not be happening”, he said. “We have all the tools to prevent COVID-19 transmission and save lives, and we continue to call on all countries to use those tools.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General (November 2021)
Since 31 December 2019, when the WHO was informed about the first cases in Wuhan, China, more than 250 million people are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 (Coronavirus) from the SARS-CoV-2 virus and more than 5.1 million people have died (all figures last updated 21 November 2021).
The highest total number of deaths is recorded in the USA (759,388), followed by Brazil (611,851), India (465,082), Mexico (291,573) and Russia (261,589). Peru, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Iran complete the top 10. Most deaths in the past 7 days have been recorded in Russia (more than 8000), followed by USA and Ukraine. The highest death rate (per 100.000 inhabitants) has by far Peru with more than 600, followed by Bulgaria (388) and Bosnia and Herzegowina (371).
The highest number of cases is still recorded in the United States of America (more that 47 million), followed by India (34.5 million), Brazil (22 million), United Kingdom (9.7 million) and Russia (9.7 million). Turkey (8.5 million), France (7.1 million), Iran (6 million), Argentina (5.3 million) and Germany (5.2 million) complete the top 10. The fourth wave starting in autumn has resulted in a rise of cases in most European countries, despite vaccinations.
Read more on the chronology of the pandemic in our blog.
