(VOVWORLD) - The worldwide count of all confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 2 million on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. It took just 10 days for the number of cases to double from 1 million to 2 million. Nearly 120,000 deaths have been confirmed so far.
A woman is loaded into an ambulance by paramedics in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID19) in New York City, New York, the US, April 8, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar)
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The US now has the world’s most coronavirus deaths and infections, with more than 23,000 deaths and more than 577,000 infections.
Spain is second in infections, with nearly 170,000, and more than 17,000 deaths. Italy has confirmed 3,000 new cases, bringing its total infections to nearly 160,000, with more than 20,000 deaths. In France, the pandemic has killed nearly 15,000 people, with nearly 137,000 cases.
Countries continue to implement measures to slow the outbreak. The governor of Ishikawa prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast declared a state of emergency this week. On Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed a presidential decree declaring Covid-19 a national disaster. Indonesia’s death toll from the pandemic continues to rise along with economic losses. Indonesia has reported approximately 400 deaths and more than 4,500 cases.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced this week that it will approve immediate debt service relief to 25 members and provide grants to its poorest and most vulnerable members, most of them African countries.