World surpasses 300 mn COVID-19 cases

SWITZERLAND: It took more than a year for the world to record the first 100 million coronavirus cases, and half that time to tally the next 100 million.

The third 100 million have come even faster, in barely five months, as large segments of countries, rich and poor alike, remain unvaccinated and a wily new variant has proved able to infect even those who are.

Case counts, though imperfect, have been a key barometer throughout the pandemic, a bench mark not only for governments implementing mitigation measures but also for people trying to discern the threat in their own communities. Yet surpassing 300 million known cases – which was recorded on Thursday (Jan 6), according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University – comes as a growing number of experts argue that it is time to stop focusing on case numbers.

So far, the new Omicron variant appears to produce severe illness in fewer people than previous versions of the virus did, and research indicates that Covid-19 vaccines still offer protection against the worst outcomes.

And though cases are rising faster than ever – the United States, Australia, France and many other nations are seeing record surges – hospitalisations and deaths from Covid are increasing more slowly.

– THE STRAITS TIMES