Global coronavirus cases has now infected a total of over 30 million people worldwide, with the pandemic showing no signs of slowing.

According to figures from Worldometer, the number of coronavirus cases reported passed the 30-million mark on Thursday.

India was firmly in focus as the latest epicentre, although North and South America combined accounted for almost half of the global cases.

Global new daily case numbers reached record levels in recent days and deaths neared 1 million as the international race to develop and market a vaccine heated up.

The official number of global coronavirus cases is now more than five times the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to World Health Organization data.

Around the world, there have been almost 1 million deaths, considered a lagging indicator given the two-week incubation period of the virus. That has well exceeded the upper range of 290,000 to 650,000 annual deaths linked to influenza.

India on Wednesday became only the second country in the world, after the United States, to record more than 5 million cases.

SOURCE: GULFINSIDER