Coronavirus cases worldwide have exceeded 200 million

Coronavirus cases worldwide have exceeded 200 million, reports Reuters news agency, as the Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates.

Cases are rising in at least 83 of the 240 countries, according to the report, putting pressure on health systems world-wide.

Countries that report the most infections in the seven-day average are the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, India and Iran. They account for about 38% of all cases worldwide, recorded daily.

"At a time when we desperately want to end this pandemic, Covid-19 is clearly not over with us. And so our battle must last a little longer, " said Russell Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.

At least 2.6% of the world's population is infected, with the actual rate likely to be higher due to the low number of tests in many areas. If the number of infected people were one country, it would be the eighth most populous in the world, behind Nigeria, according to a Reuters analysis.

It took more than a year for Covid-19 cases to reach the 100 million mark, with the next 100 million recorded in just over six months, according to the analysis. The pandemic has left nearly 4.4 million dead.

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