World COVID-19 Cases Near 10-Million Mark; U.S., India Set Records
On the day the United States reportedly registered a single-day high of 40,000 COVID-19 infections, India also surpassed the half-million mark.
Both countries are included in the Top 4 in terms of coronavirus cases, with the US leading Brazil, Russia, and India in that order. America also has the highest fatalities toll at 125,039 of the world's 494,841 total deaths as of writing.
The U.S. smashed its previous high of 36,400 infections (from April 24), according to the Johns Hopkins research university's official tally. The record also resulted in some governors like Greg Abbott of Texas rethinking the reopening of their states.
He stated, "It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health."
Recall that in May, U.S. President Donald Trump called testing for COVID-19 "overrated," reasoning, "If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases."
Meanwhile, the federal health ministry of India confirmed 17,000 new coronavirus infections, with cases piling up in major cities and the capital Delhi. So far, there has been more than 15,000 total deaths in the South Asian country.
National Institute of Epidemiology Director Dr. Manoj Murhekar, a member of India's main coronavirus task force stressed, "Our focus should be on preventing deaths and not really getting bogged down because of the numbers. Numbers are going to increase."