Doctors check on coronavirus patients in Barros Luco Hospital, Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
The number of novel coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 10 million on Sunday morning as the death toll nears 500,000, Johns Hopkins data shows.
Driving the news: North America, Latin America and Europe each constitute about one-quarter of infections, per Reuters, citing government reports. Asia has reported about 11% and the Middle East 11% and 9% of all cases.
By the numbers: Per Johns Hopkins, the U.S. has reported the highest number of people to test positive for COVID-19 (over 2.5 million), followed by Brazil (more than 1.3 million), Russia (over 633,000) and India (more than 528,800).
- Brazil and India have been reporting more than 10,000 cases a day recently, Reuters notes.
- The global death toll from the virus stands at 499,100 as of Sunday morning.
Zoom in: In the U.S., 26 states have reported rises in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with new cases up 77% in Arizona, 75% in Michigan, 70% in Texas and 66% in Florida.
- Florida, Arizona, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada set new daily coronavirus records on Saturday.
The big picture: The milestone comes as countries continue to ease lockdowns and other restrictions that were imposed to combat the pandemic.
- Governments' large fiscal packages and new borrowing in response to COVID-19 threaten their credit ratings and budget sustainability, the IMF warned this week.
Of note: Reuters notes that the number of coronavirus cases is "roughly double the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually" by the World Health Organization.
Go deeper: The changes that will outlast the crisis
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details on countries reporting high case numbers and further context.