Global coronavirus cases top 40 million as pandemic's pace 'continues to pick up'

Healthcare workers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment check in with people waiting to be tested for COVID-19 at the state&#039;s first drive-up testing center on March 1 — (Image credit: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed globally has passed 40 million, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest numbers.

This grim milestone comes as Europe has been experiencing a surge in coronavirus infections and last week reached a weekly record of almost 700,000 new cases, The Associated Press reports. The AP writes that "the global increase in recent weeks has been driven by a surge in Europe." In the United States, meanwhile, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic last week passed eight million.

Additionally, Reuters reports that the "pace of the pandemic continues to pick up," as a total of 32 days passed between the milestone of 30 million global cases and 40 million cases, whereas for comparison, Reuters reports, it took 38 days for the global total to rise from 20 million cases to 30 million cases. Before that, it took 44 days to go from 10 million cases to 20 million cases, and reaching 10 million cases took three months. At least 1.1 million people have died from COVID-19.

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The U.S. on Friday also reported the highest number of new coronavirus cases in one day since July, and according to CNN, "there is nearly no place in America where COVID-19 case counts are trending in the right direction."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.