Coronavirus: WHO says UK strain in over 60 countries as US death toll passes 400,000
- New Covid-19 variants causing deep concern as world grapples with how to slow infections
- The United States remains home to the world’s worst outbreak in overall numbers
The UK coronavirus strain has spread to at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday, after the incoming US president Joe Biden led a moving tribute to 400,000 American victims.
Covid-19 has claimed more than two million lives globally since it was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan more than a year ago, while the total number of reported cases is edging towards 100 million, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.
The arrival of mass inoculation drives in the United States, Europe and Asia had brought hope that the end of the epidemic was in sight.
But deep concern over new variants of the deadly pathogen has triggered governments around the world to toughen constraints on restriction-weary populations as officials grapple with how to slow infections until vaccines become widely available.
In its weekly update, the WHO announced the strain first found in the UK was now in 10 more countries than seven days ago.
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Covid-19 death toll hits 400,000 in the United States
It said the South African variant – which similarly is believed to be more transmissible – has been reported in 23 countries and territories.
