Confirmed coronavirus cases top 200,000 worldwide

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world surpassed 200,000 as of Wednesday morning, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.

The novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 has also accounted for at least 8,007 deaths, including more than 2,500 in Italy and nearly 1,000 in Iran. About 3,100 deaths have been reported in China’s Hubei province, where the virus originated in December.

China’s National Health Commission has reported just one new confirmed case of the virus in consecutive days, however, signaling that the outbreak may be slowing in that region. 

Roughly 82,000 people have fully recovered from the virus, the data shows. 

The U.S. had reported almost 5,900 cases of the virus as of Wednesday morning. At least 107 people have died from it, according to a New York Times database. 

Health officials in the U.S. have increasingly warned that the number of people infected with the virus will go up in the nation before things gets better, and COVID-19’s spread has led to mass closures of business and schools nationwide. President Trump earlier this week advised citizens against gatherings of more than 10 people.

The outbreak has led to scrutiny over the slow pace of testing taking place in the U.S., as many health and government officials voice concerns about the strain the virus could put on the health care system. 

Italy has been the country hardest hit by the pandemic outside of mainland China. The country reported at least 31,506 cases of the virus as of Wednesday morning. Italy imposed a nationwide lockdown earlier this month as part of an effort to slow its spread.

Iran, Spain, Germany, France and South Korea have also been significantly impacted by the disease’s outbreak, though South Korea has gained praise for its ability to quickly administer hundreds of thousands of tests and help individuals recover. South Korea has reported just 84 deaths among the 8,413 confirmed cases of the disease, Johns Hopkins’s data shows.