Global COVID-19 tally surpasses 200 mil.; cases surging in Japan, China

Across the world more than 200 million people have been infected with the coronavirus.
As the delta variant spreads... cases are surging in Japan and China.
Bae Eun-ji reports.
One year and seven months after the first COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, China... the number of confirmed cases across the world has surpassed 200 million.
That is about 2-point-5 percent of the global population of 7-point-7-5 billion.
The global tally had topped 100 million on January 25th... which means that it took over a year to reach 100 million, but needed just half a year to surpass 200 million.
Over in Japan... the country warned that COVID-19 infections are surging at an unprecedented pace... as the daily caseload hit a record-high on Wednesday... with more than 4-thousand cases.
On Monday... Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that hospitals will only admit those who are seriously ill, or those who are at risk of becoming so.
Saying that the Delta variant was leading to a spread of infections (quote) "unseen in the past"... the country's health minister on Wednesday defended this new policy of asking patients with milder symptoms to isolate at home rather than going to the hospital.