- The number of deaths from COVID-19 has passed half a million, according to John Hopkins University
- The death toll now sits at 501,206 (at 11:06 am AEST), though the actual number of deaths from the virus is expected to be higher
- The U.S. has recorded the most deaths, with over 125,000 people killed by the coronavirus
- In Australia, 104 people have died from COVID-19, though Victoria is recording a second wave of infections
- New figures show 75 cases of the virus were recorded in the state today
The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has reached half a million, according to the tracker at the world-renowened John Hopkins University.
The Univerisity has compiled official data from Governments across the globe to record a total of 501,206 (at 11:06 am AEST) deaths from the coronavirus.
However, the exact number of deaths from the virus is likely to be higher, as some deaths are yet to be counted.
In total, more than 10 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded across the globe.
U.S. leads the pack
The U.S. has become the epicentre of the virus, where more than 125,000 people have died from COVID-19.
The country has also recorded an uptick in cases recently, as social distancing measures adopted in March, have been loosened.
This is… not good. pic.twitter.com/cGEwup0G9D
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) June 28, 2020
Meantime, Brazil has recorded over 57,000 COVID-19 deaths, while the UK has recorded more than 43,000 deaths.
Victoria continues to struggle
In Australia, 104 people have died due to the coronavirus.
More than 7600 cases have been recorded across the country so far, with Victoria in the grips of a second peak of infections
75 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the state in the last 24 hours. Of those 75 cases, 74 were acquired locally.
“Obviously we are concerned by the increasing number and the upward trend and are monitoring the situation very closely,” Victoria’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.
In comparison, 49 new cases of the coronavirus were recorded in Victoria just yesterday.
Amongst the new cases was a cleaner who works at Australian Border Force offices at Melbourne Airport. The area is now undergoing extensive cleaning.
Victorian officials have been focusing their testing efforts on hotspot suburbs, where high levels of COVID-19 have been recorded.
Around 500,000 tests will be completed in a bid to track down and quarantine clusters of infections.
Officials have also ruled testing will be mandatory for those returning from overseas after many people in quarantine refused COVID-19 tests.