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Do not fill this in! === Cases === {{Main|COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory|COVID-19 pandemic cases}} Official "case" counts refer to the number of people who have been [[COVID-19 testing|tested for COVID-19]] and whose test has been confirmed positive according to official protocols whether or not they experienced symptomatic disease.<ref name="1ceLG">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.who.int/publications-detail/laboratory-testing-for-2019-novel-coronavirus-in-suspected-human-cases-20200117 |title=Laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in suspected human cases |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) |access-date=30 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="J0rix">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/full-list-cumulative-total-tests-per-thousand |title=Total tests for COVID-19 per 1,000 people |website=Our World in Data |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref> Due to the effect of [[sampling bias]], studies which obtain a more accurate number by extrapolating from a random sample have consistently found that total infections considerably exceed the reported case counts.<ref name="WqXOo">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/departments/school-public-health/infectious-disease-epidemiology/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/covid-19/report-13-europe-npi-impact/ |title=Report 13 – Estimating the number of infections and the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in 11 European countries |website=Imperial College London |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="BtFLV">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Lau H, Khosrawipour V, Kocbach P, Mikolajczyk A, Ichii H, Schubert J, Bania J, Khosrawipour T | title = Internationally lost COVID-19 cases | journal = Journal of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infection = Wei Mian Yu Gan Ran Za Zhi | volume = 53 | issue = 3 | pages = 454–458 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32205091 | pmc = 7102572 | doi = 10.1016/j.jmii.2020.03.013 }}</ref> Many countries, early on, had official policies to not test those with only mild symptoms.<ref name="elpais640000">{{#invoke:cite news || url=https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-03-23/640000-rapid-coronavirus-tests-arrive-in-spain.html |title=640,000 rapid coronavirus tests arrive in Spain | vauthors = Sevillano EG, Linde P, Vizoso S |date=23 March 2020 |newspaper=El País English Edition |access-date=2 April 2020 }}</ref><ref name="20200313reuters">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Parodi E, Jewkes S, Cha S, Park JM |date=12 March 2020 |title=Special Report: Italy and South Korea virus outbreaks reveal disparity in deaths and tactics |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-response-specialre-idUSKBN20Z27P |url-status=live |access-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312210714/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-response-specialre-idUSKBN20Z27P |archive-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> The strongest risk factors for severe illness are obesity, [[complications of diabetes]], anxiety disorders, and the total number of conditions.<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Kompaniyets L, Pennington AF, Goodman AB, Rosenblum HG, Belay B, Ko JY, Chevinsky JR, Schieber LZ, Summers AD, Lavery AM, Preston LE, Danielson ML, Cui Z, Namulanda G, Yusuf H, Mac Kenzie WR, Wong KK, Baggs J, Boehmer TK, Gundlapalli AV | title = Underlying Medical Conditions and Severe Illness Among 540,667 Adults Hospitalized With COVID-19, March 2020 – March 2021 | journal = Preventing Chronic Disease | volume = 18 | pages = E66 | date = July 2021 | pmid = 34197283 | pmc = 8269743 | doi = 10.5888/pcd18.210123 | publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention }}</ref> During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic it was not clear whether young people were less likely to be infected, or less likely to develop symptoms and be tested.<ref name="vox21190033">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.vox.com/2020/3/23/21190033/coronavirus-covid-19-deaths-by-age |title=The Covid-19 risks for different age groups, explained | vauthors = Scott D |date=23 March 2020 |website=Vox |access-date=12 April 2020}}</ref> A retrospective [[cohort study]] in China found that [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children|children]] and adults were just as likely to be infected.<ref name="489Q3">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Bi Q, Wu Y, Mei S, Ye C, Zou X, Zhang Z, Liu X, Wei L, Truelove SA, Zhang T, Gao W, Cheng C, Tang X, Wu X, Wu Y, Sun B, Huang S, Sun Y, Zhang J, Ma T, Lessler J, Feng T | title = Epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 in 391 cases and 1286 of their close contacts in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 20 | issue = 8 | pages = 911–919 | date = August 2020 | pmid = 32353347 | pmc = 7185944 | doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30287-5 }}</ref> Among more thorough studies, [[COVID-19 Case-Cluster-Study|preliminary results]] from 9 April 2020, found that in [[Gangelt]], the centre of a major infection cluster in Germany, 15 percent of a population sample tested positive for [[antibody|antibodies]].<ref name="otW1O">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.land.nrw/sites/default/files/asset/document/zwischenergebnis_covid19_case_study_gangelt_0.pdf |title=Vorläufiges Ergebnis und Schlussfolgerungen der COVID-19 Case-Cluster-Study (Gemeinde Gangelt) | vauthors = Streeck H |date=9 April 2020 |website=Land NRW – State of North Rhine-Westphalia |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> Screening for COVID-19 in pregnant women [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City|in New York City]], and [[blood donor]]s in the Netherlands, found rates of positive antibody tests that indicated more infections than reported.<ref name="rCdvL">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Sutton D, Fuchs K, D'Alton M, Goffman D | title = Universal Screening for SARS-CoV-2 in Women Admitted for Delivery | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 382 | issue = 22 | pages = 2163–2164 | date = May 2020 | pmid = 32283004 | pmc = 7175422 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMc2009316 }}</ref><ref name="20200416reuters">{{#invoke:cite news ||url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-study-idUSKCN21Y102 |title=Dutch study suggests 3% of population may have coronavirus antibodies |date=16 April 2020 |work=Reuters |access-date=20 April 2020}}</ref> [[Seroprevalence]]-based estimates are conservative as some studies show that persons with mild symptoms do not have detectable antibodies.<ref name="0LgFK">{{#invoke:cite web || title=Interactive Serology Dashboard for Commercial Laboratory Surveys |url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/commercial-labs-interactive-serology-dashboard.html |date=21 July 2020 |access-date=24 July 2020 |publisher=Centres for Disease Control and Prevention}}</ref> Initial estimates of the [[basic reproduction number]] (R<sub>0</sub>) for COVID-19 in January 2020 were between 1.4 and 2.5,<ref name="WFNfK">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-01-2020-statement-on-the-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov) |title=Statement on the meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 (n-CoV) on 23 January 2020 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) |access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref> but a subsequent analysis claimed that it may be about 5.7 (with a 95 percent [[confidence interval]] of 3.8 to 8.9).<ref name="mmCQc">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Sanche S, Lin YT, Xu C, Romero-Severson E, Hengartner N, Ke R | title = High Contagiousness and Rapid Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 | journal = Emerging Infectious Diseases | volume = 26 | issue = 7 | pages = 1470–1477 | date = July 2020 | pmid = 32255761 | pmc = 7323562 | doi = 10.3201/eid2607.200282 | s2cid = 215410037 }}</ref> In December 2021, the number of cases continued to climb due to several factors, including new COVID-19 variants. As of that 28{{nbsp}}December, 282,790,822 individuals worldwide had been confirmed as infected.<ref>{{#invoke:cite web ||title=ArcGIS Dashboards |url=https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 |publisher=gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref> {{As of |2022|April|14}}, over 500 million cases were confirmed globally.<ref>{{#invoke:cite web ||last1=B |first1=Kavya |last2=Mazumder |first2=Aparupa |title=Worldwide COVID cases surpass 500 mln as Omicron variant BA.2 surges |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/worldwide-covid-cases-surpass-500-mln-omicron-variant-ba2-surges-2022-04-14/ |website=Reuters |access-date=21 April 2022 |date=14 April 2022}}</ref> Most cases are unconfirmed, with the [[Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation]] estimating the true number of cases as of early 2022 to be in the billions.<ref name="57percent1" /><ref name="57percent2" /> [[File:Covid-19 new cases in top 5 countries and the world.png|thumb|center|400px|Semi-log plot of weekly new cases of COVID-19 in the world and the current top six countries (mean with deaths)]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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