COVID-19 update

At press time, active COVID-19 infections had been confirmed in 188 countries and territories, with more than 33 million cases. On Sept. 29, the worldwide death count surpassed one million. The country with the most confirmed deaths from COVID-19 continued to be the US, with more than 210,000. It was followed by Brazil (147,000), India (103,000), Mexico (79,000) and the United Kingdom (42,000).

In September, cases in Europe rose dramatically, particularly in the UK, Spain, France and Italy, leading to new local lockdowns in some cities. One UK official warned that the country could face up to 50,000 new cases a day if steps weren’t taken to control the outbreak.

Israel became the first country in the world to impose a second national lockdown, on Sept. 20, after its death rate climbed above the international average and the number of cases per capita rose above that of the US.