Belgian doctor Antoine Sassine, a urologist at Chirec Delta Hospital, who survived the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after six weeks in the intensive care unit and three and a half weeks in a coma, embraces his wife, Alexandra, as he leaves the hospital in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday, April 19.

The 58-year-old and his team were all diagnosed at the hospital and he was admitted to the intensive care unit when his symptoms worsened.

Sassine was placed in an induced coma, but says he was aware of his desire to fight the disease and that he also had visions of his late father.

Now he is looking forward to hugging his family, whom he has not seen since he was diagnosed, and recuperating at home.

Belgium has reported 38,496 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 5,683 deaths. Coronavirus cases rose to 2.3 million around with world Sunday, with the U.S. seeing steady increases but several other countries reporting declining numbers.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center says more than 735,000 cases and nearly 40,000 deaths have been recorded in the United States, now the epicenter of the virus that first broke out in China late last year. (VOA/Reuters)

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/more-23-million-covid-cases-around-world