The disease spreads most often when people are physically close.[a] It spreads very easily and sustainably through the air, primarily via small droplets or particles like aerosols, as an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings.[3][4] It may also be transmitted via contaminated surfaces, although this has not been conclusively demonstrated.[4][5][6] It can spread for up to two days prior to symptom onset and from people who are asymptomatic.[4] People remain infectious for 7–12 days in moderate cases and up to two weeks in severe cases.[4][7]
As of 29 September 2020 (UTC) · History of cases · History of deaths
Notes
^Known as "close contact" which is variously defined, including within ~1.8 metres (six feet) by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and being face to face for at least 15 minutes, or sharing an enclosed space for a prolonged period such as 2 hours, by the Australian Health Department.[2][3]
^Location: Countries, territories, and international conveyances where cases were diagnosed. The nationality of the infected and the origin of infection may vary. For some countries, cases are split into respective territories and noted accordingly.
^Cases: This number shows the cumulative number of confirmed human cases reported to date. The actual number of infections and cases is likely to be higher than reported.[8] Reporting criteria and testing capacity vary between locations.
^Deaths: Reporting criteria vary between locations.
^Recoveries: May not correspond to actual current figures and not all recoveries may be reported. Reporting criteria vary between locations and some countries do not report recoveries.
^The worldwide totals for cases, deaths and recoveries are taken from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. They are not sums of the figures for the listed countries and territories.
Not all states or overseas territories report recovery data.
Cases include clinically diagnosed cases as per CDC guidelines.[9]
Recoveries and deaths include probable deaths and people released from quarantine as per CDC guidelines.[10][11][12]
Figures from the United States Department of Defense are only released on a branch-by branch basis since April 2020, without distinction between domestic and foreign deployment, and cases may be reported to local health authorities.[13]
Cases for the USS Theodore Roosevelt, currently docked at Guam, are reported separate from national figures but included in the Navy's totals.
Since 6 June, the Brazilian government has ordered the Ministry of Health to stop reporting the total number of deaths and active cases.[18] After this, the National Council of Health Secretaries assumed the function of reporting the total number of deaths and active cases.[19]
Excluding confirmed cases on the claimed territory of the Falkland Islands. Since 11 April, the Argentine Ministry of Health includes them in their official reports.[27]
Figures for total confirmed cases and total deaths include data from both hospital and nursing home (ESMS: établissements sociaux et médico-sociaux).[33]
The Chilean Ministry of Health considered all cases as "recovered" after 14 days since the initial symptoms of the virus, no matter the health situation of the infected or if following tests indicate the continuing presence of the virus. The only exception were casualties, which are not included as recovered.[39]
Deaths only include cases with positive PCR tests and catalogued as "COVID-19 related death" by the Civil Registry and Identification Service. This number is informed on the daily reports of the Ministry of Health. A report with the total number of deaths, including suspected cases without PCR test, is released weekly since 20 June 2020.[40] In the latest report (28 September 2020), the number of total deaths is 17,210.[41]
On 17 July 2020, Quebec, Canada, revised its criteria on recoveries. The Institut national de santé publique claims that "the previous method resulted in 'significant underestimations' of recovered cases."[58] This change resulted in a drop of active cases nationwide, from a total of 27,603 on 16 July to 4,058 on 17 July.[59]
The number of deaths also includes untested cases and cases in retirement homes that presumably died because of COVID-19, whilst most countries only include deaths of tested cases in hospitals.[71]
The British cruise ship Diamond Princess was in Japanese waters, and the Japanese administration was asked to manage its quarantine, with the passengers having not entered Japan. Therefore, this case is included in neither the Japanese nor British official counts. The World Health Organization classifies the cases as being located "on an international conveyance".
Excluding the cases from Diamond Princess cruise ship which are classified as "on an international conveyance". Ten cases, including one fatality recorded by the Australian government.
As of 23 March 2020, according to figures from just over 40 per cent of all GPs in Norway, 20,200 patients have been registered with the "corona code" R991. The figure includes both cases where the patient has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection through testing, and where the GP has used the "corona code" after assessing the patient's symptoms against the criteria by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.[149]
As of 24 March 2020, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health estimates that between 7,120 and 23,140 Norwegians are infected with the coronavirus.[150]
Including the autonomous region of the Åland Islands.
The number of recoveries is an estimate based on reported cases which were reported at least two weeks ago and there is no other monitoring data on the course of the disease.[165] The exact number of recoveries is not known, as only a small proportion of patients have been hospitalized.[166]
Although currently anchored off the coast of Uruguay, cases for the Greg Mortimer are currently reported separately. Six have been transferred inland for hospitalization.
1,204 people who tested positive have been voluntarily repatriated to their respective countries and are not part of the confirmed case count as a result the Government of Botswana does not include the transferred-out cases.[230]
Recoveries are presumed. Defined as "An individual testing positive for coronavirus who completes the 14 day self-isolation period from the onset of symptoms who is at home on day 15, or an individual who is discharged from hospital following more severe symptoms."[274]
The MS Rotterdam rendezvoused with the Zaandam on 26 March off the coast of Panama City to provide support and evacuate healthy passengers. Both have since docked in Florida.[319][320]
MS Zaandam and Rotterdam's numbers are currently not counted in any national figures.
Figures for Tanzania are "No data" as the country stopped publishing figures on coronavirus cases on 29 April.[333] Figures as of that date were 509 cases, 21 deaths, and 183 recoveries.[334][335]
7,143 new cases are reported in the United Kingdom in the last 24 hours, the highest single day of reported cases ever since the beginning of the outbreak. Meanwhile, 71 COVID-19-related deaths are reported at the same time, the highest level since July 1. (Sky News)
India surpasses six million cases of COVID-19, becoming the second country after the United States to reach that milestone. Meanwhile, 82.5% or more than five million people have recovered.(AP)
Ninety United Nations peacekeeping forces of UNIFIL test positive for COVID-19. A spokesman for UNIFIL says the personnel were transferred to a special facility with equipment to treat the disease. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
Movement of the DJIA between January 2017 and March 2020, showing the all-time high on 12 February, and the subsequent crash.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread around the globe, concerns have shifted from supply-side manufacturing issues to decreased business in the services sector. The pandemic caused the largest global recession in history, with more than a third of the global population at the time being placed on lockdown.
Global stock markets fell on 24 February 2020 due to a significant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases outside mainland China. By 28 February 2020, stock markets worldwide saw their largest single-week declines since the 2008 financial crisis. Global stock markets crashed in March 2020, with falls of several percent in the world's major indices. Read more...
The pandemic has resulted in misinformation and conspiracy theories about the scale of the pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. False information, including intentional disinformation, has been spread through social media, text messaging, and mass media, including the tabloid media, conservative media, and state media of countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan. It has also been reportedly spread by covert operations backed by states such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and China to generate panic and sow distrust in other countries. In some countries, such as India, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia, journalists have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news about the pandemic. Read more...
Testing
COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main branches detect either the presence of the virus or of antibodies produced in response to infection. Tests for viral presence are used to diagnose individual cases and to allow public health authorities to trace and contain outbreaks. Antibody tests instead show whether someone once had the disease. They are less useful for diagnosing current infections because antibodies may not develop for weeks after infection. It is used to assess disease prevalence, which aids the estimation of the infection fatality rate. Read more...
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