Global COVID-19 cases surpass 80 mln -- Johns Hopkins University

NEW YORK -- Global COVID-19 cases surpassed 80 million on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The global case count reached 80,070,327, with a total of 1,753,839 deaths worldwide as of 12:22 pm local time (1722 GMT), the CSSE data showed.

The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 18,794,545 and 330,509, respectively. India recorded 10,169,118 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 7,448,560 cases and the world's second largest death toll of 190,488.

Countries with more than 2 million cases also include Russia, France, Britain, Turkey and Italy, while other countries with over 50,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Italy, Britain, France, Iran and Russia, according to the CSSE tally.

Global cases hit 50 million on Nov 8, topped 60 million on Nov 25 and surpassed 70 million on Dec 11. It took 17 days for the global caseload to jump from 50 million to 60 million, 16 days from 60 million to 70 million and only 15 days from 70 million to 80 million.

The United States remains the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 23 percent of the global cases.

US experts warned there could be a post-holiday surge given the considerable amount of travelers nationwide in the midst of the Christmas season.