Global coronavirus infections surpass 75 million mark

Global coronavirus infections surpassed the 75 million mark on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, as several nations around the world begin vaccinating against the virus, Reuters reported.

There have been 18.65 million new cases in the past month, the highest reported for a 30-day period since the pandemic started.

Europe remains the region with the most cases – 21.6 million cases – followed by North America with 17.9 million, Latin America with 14.5 million and Asia with 13 million.

Mainland China recorded 23 new COVID-19 cases on Dec. 19, up from 17 a day earlier, the country’s health authority said on Sunday.

The National Health Commission said in its daily bulletin that 22 of the new cases were imported. A single local transmission was in the northeastern province of Liaoning, Reuters reported.

Another 10 asymptomatic cases were also reported on Dec. 19, down from 16 the previous day. China does not include asymptomatic patients in its total confirmed case list.

Mainland China has now reported an accumulated total of 86,829 coronavirus cases, with 4,634 deaths.