The number of COVID-19 infections globally has surpassed the 23 million mark on the same day the number of deaths hit the 800,000 mark.
According to the latest figures from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, there were 23,009,629 cases reported globally by Saturday evening, with 800,566 fatalities.
The United States remains the hardest-hit country, having registered 5,638,633 cases and 175,674 deaths.
The figures represent 24.5 percent of the world’s infections and 22 percent of its deaths.
Other than the U.S., only two other countries have recorded more than one million COVID-19 cases; Brazil (3,532,330) and India (2,975,701).
In terms of fatalities, only Brazil (113,358) joins the U.S. in the list of countries that have reported more than 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
Further on, five more countries besides the U.S., Brazil and India have reported more than 500,000 COVID-19 cases; Russia (949,531), South Africa (603,338), Peru (576,067), Mexico (549,734) and Colombia (522,138).
In total, these eight countries account for 66.7 percent of the world’s confirmed infections.
Worth noting, South Africa is the only African country that has reported more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases. It accounts for more than half the confirmed infections on the continent, at 51.6 percent.
