More than 11 million people have COVID-19 across the world, according to Johns Hopkins

What is a “new mutation” and should the public be concerned?

Dr. Fauci said on July 2 that the coronavirus has mutated in a way that may replicate and spread more easily. Should the public be worried?

More than 11 million people are confirmed to have COVID-19 across the world, according to the most recent data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

As of July 3rd, there were more than 523,000 COVID-19 deaths and 5.8 million COVID-19 recoveries globally. In the United States alone, there were more than 2.7 million confirmed cases and 129,000 deaths, based on John Hopkins’ data.

The milestone comes at a time when different areas across the world are reimplementing lockdown measures to combat a surge in COVID-19 infection numbers.

In Australia, a country that had been noted for its effective handling of the pandemic, there was a recent outbreak in COVID-19 cases. Brazil has been experiencing a drastic surge in its infection numbers, with over 1.4 million confirmed cases, second only to the United States.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday during a media briefing that people should reflect on the progress made and lessons learned in the crisis. But Ghebreyesus also warned that “the worst is yet to come” and urged countries to “recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to save lives.”

“Six months ago, none of us could have imagined how our world – and our lives – would be thrown into turmoil by this new virus,” Ghebreyesus said. “The pandemic has brought out the best and the worst of humanity.”

The U.S. still has more confirmed cases than any other nation by a significant margin with over 2.7 million, a situation so extreme that the European Union barred American travelers from visiting its member nations. In recent days, the United States has broken its own records for new confirmed case counts.

Due to a lack of federal lockdown measure, state and local governments have implemented their own restrictions and guidelines to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida, for example, was one of the earliest states to reopen, but is now experiencing record-setting numbers for daily confirmed cases. At the start of the June, new daily confirmed cases in Florida were just above 1,000. In recent days, they’ve been close to 10,000.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading health expert on the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., warned this week that the U.S. could see 100,000 new cases if the current situation does not improve.

“I’m very concerned,” Fauci said during a Congressional testimony on Tuesday, where he was joined by other health leaders, including CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield and FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.

“I can’t make an accurate prediction, but it’s going to be very disturbing, I will guarantee you that. Because when you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they’re doing well, they are vulnerable,” Fauci said.