The Johns Hopkins COVID Dashboard for Wednesday, December 23, at 5:22 a.m.:

Worldwide cases: 78,197,192       Worldwide deaths:   1,720,949

U.S. cases: 18,255,974     U.S. deaths: 323,274

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide case report increased by 640,489 in the last 24 hours.  Deaths worldwide increased by 14,436.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 198,802 cases in the last 24 hours.

In the last day, the number of people who have died in the U.S. from  COVID-19 increased by 3,447.

The United States continues to lead the world in cases, with nearly twice as many as the next highest, India.  India’s population is estimated at 1.35 Billion.  The U.S. population is estimated at 330 Million.  The U.S. also leads the world in deaths from COVID-19, by far.  Click on the attached map to see the numbers of cases and deaths from COVID-19 by country, or go to the original map–click here.

Hospitalizations of people with severe cases of COVID-19 around the country have been growing at a steady rate.  The COVID Tracking Project reports that 117,777 people were hospitalized nationwide with COVID-19 as of yesterday.