Coronavirus cases spiked higher than they have all year. Here’s what we know

If it seems attention to the coronavirus has reached a fever pitch the past few days, experts are offering data to back up the heightened concern.

The daily tally of new cases reached 16,200 people worldwide on March 13, marking the biggest daily jump in the short history of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The second largest single one-day jump was 15,100 new cases on Feb. 13, the university reports.

That 15,100 peak came at a time when new increases were averaging around 2,000 new cases per day for people testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, data shows.

By contrast, the daily totals have surpassed 6,000 since March 13, including 11,600 on March 14, Johns Hopkins reports.

The global total of those infected was nearing 170,000 worldwide March 16, most of them in China, Italy and Iran, according to Johns Hopkins data.

As of noon Monday, March 16, there have been more than 6,500 deaths from the virus and more than 77,000 who were infected but have recovered, most of them in China, according to Johns Hopkins.

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Coronavirus cases spiked higher than they have all year. Here’s what we know."