COVID-19 Cases Near 19 Million... Unrelenting Spread Continues Worldwide

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is showing signs of spreading again worldwide, the cumulative number of confirmed cases is approaching 19 million. With attention focused on vaccine development, the only way to calm the situation, the U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna has set vaccine prices, and the U.S. government has moved to secure additional vaccines.

According to the international statistics site Worldometer on the 6th, as of 2 a.m. (Greenwich Mean Time), the cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was approximately 18.97 million. The rate of COVID-19 spread has not decreased since major countries lifted lockdown measures to curb the spread. After surpassing 10 million on June 27, it exceeded 15 million on July 21, and then passed 16 million and 17 million on July 25 and 30 respectively, breaking the 18 million mark on August 2. The global death toll from COVID-19 also exceeded 700,000 on the same day.

The United States, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, has surpassed 4.97 million cumulative confirmed cases, with patients emerging in various places. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the National Institutes of Health, appeared on CNN and said, "Numbers don't lie," adding, "The U.S., which accounts for less than 5% of the world's population, leads all other countries in COVID-19 infections and death rates worldwide."

In Europe, COVID-19 is spreading again, centered on France and Spain. According to the Guardian and other daily newspapers, the number of new confirmed cases in France was recorded at 1,695 on the day, marking the largest increase since the end of May. In Spain, the daily new confirmed cases rose by 1,772, the largest increase since the lifting of lockdown measures in June. In response, countries such as Switzerland have strengthened quarantine measures again, adding Spain to the list of countries requiring self-quarantine upon entry.

In Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, new COVID-19 cases have remained in the 50,000 range for two consecutive days. The newly reported cases in Brazil on the day were counted at 57,152. Additionally, Japan reported over 1,000 new cases for the second consecutive day, indicating that the spread continues globally.

As the situation prolongs, developing and securing vaccines has become increasingly important to ultimately end the crisis. Moderna, which is developing a vaccine, announced that it would price a single dose at $32 to $37 (approximately 38,000 to 44,000 KRW). This is more expensive than the vaccine jointly developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German BioNTech (priced at $19.50 per dose), and foreign media reported that negotiations are underway to offer lower prices to bulk purchasers. The U.S. government is actively securing vaccines. On the day, it signed a supply contract with U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson for 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total pre-purchased vaccine doses to 700 million.