By Fuat Kabakci and Sena Guler
ANKARA (AA) – It has been a year since the coronavirus, which first appeared in China, spread to the whole world — locking people indoors, plunging economies, and claiming millions of lives.
On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
A year later, 118.16 million people have been infected all over the world with more than 2.62 fatalities, according to figures compiled by Worldometer.
Over 66.04 million people have recovered from the disease caused by the virus.
– Highest number of cases, deaths in US
Nearly half of the total infections worldwide are in the US, India, Brazil, the UK, and Russia. They also reported almost half of worldwide deaths.
Moreover, 21 countries have surpassed the nationwide tally of one million infections.
The US ranks first in the number of cases around the world with 29.15 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.
It is followed by India with the case-count crossing 11.28 million, Brazil 11.2 million, Russia 4.31 million, the UK 4.25 million, France 4.023 million, Spain 3.18 million, Italy 3.12 million, Turkey 2.82 million, and Germany 2.54 million.
Other countries like Colombia, Argentina and Mexico have reported over 2.28 million, 2.17 million and 2.14 million cases, respectively.
Also, Poland has reported nearly 1.85 million cases, the Netherlands 1.15 million, and Czechia 1.36 million.
So far, Iran has recorded over 1.72 million cases, South Africa 1.52 million, Ukraine 1.47 million, Indonesia 1.4 million and Peru 1.38 million.
The highest death toll is also registered in the US with 529,267 fatalities.
It is followed by Brazil with 270,656 deaths, Mexico 192,491, India 158,189, the UK 125,222, Italy 100,811, France 89,719, Russia 89,224, Germany 72,861, Spain 71,961, Iran 61,016, Colombia 60,773, Argentina 53,359, South Africa 51,015, Peru 48,323, Poland 46,373, Indonesia 38,049, Turkey 29,227, Ukraine 29,195, Czechia 22,624, and Belgium 22,347.
– Recovery rates of countries
The US has reported the highest COVID-19 recoveries at over 20.64 million, according to Worldometer.
It is followed by India with over 10.93 million recoveries, Brazil 9.92 million, Russia 3.91 million, Turkey 2.64 million, Italy 2.53 million, Germany 2.34 million, Colombia, 2.18 million, Argentina 1.96 million, Mexico 1.68 million, Poland 1.51 million, Iran 1,47 million, South Africa 1.44 million, Peru 1.29 million, Ukraine 1.25 million, Indonesia 1.22 million, and Czechia 1.178 million. France has recorded 275,811 recoveries.
– Case-population rates of top 10 countries
The rate of case count to population is 8.9 in the US, 0.8 in India, 5.2 in Brazil, 2.9 in Russia, 6.2 in the UK, 6 in France, 6.7 in Spain, 5.1 in Italy, 3.3 in Turkey, and 3 in Germany.
Vaccines produced by China, the US, Russia, and India have received emergency use approval.
Globally, more than 300 million people have received vaccines, showing humanity a light at the end of the tunnel.
