Govts on alert amid record rise in coronavirus cases

SYDNEY/LONDON • Almost 40 countries have reported record single-day increases in coronavirus cases over the past week, around double the number that did so the previous week, according to a Reuters tally showing a spike in the Covid-19 pandemic in every region of the world.

The rate of cases has been increasing not only in areas like the United States, Brazil and India, which have dominated headlines with large outbreaks, but also in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Uzbekistan and Israel, among others.

Many countries, especially those where officials eased earlier social distancing lockdowns, are experiencing a second peak more than a month after recording their first.

"We will not be going back to the 'old normal'. The pandemic has already changed the way we live our lives," World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week.

"We're asking everyone to treat the decisions about where they go, what they do and who they meet with as life-and-death decisions - because they are."

The Reuters data, compiled from official reports, shows a steady rise in the number of countries reporting record daily increases in coronavirus infections.

At least seven countries recorded such increases four weeks ago, rising to at least 13 three weeks ago, to at least 20 two weeks ago and to 37 countries last week.

The true numbers of both cases and deaths are almost certainly under-reported, particularly in countries with poorer healthcare systems, experts and officials say. For this report, the Reuters data was restricted to countries that provide regular daily numbers. A surge in cases usually precedes a rise in deaths by a couple of weeks.

The Reuters tally comes as the WHO reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 284,196 in 24 hours. The previous WHO record for new cases was 259,848 on July 18.

Deaths rose by 9,753, the biggest one-day increase since a record high of 9,797 deaths on April 30. Fatalities have averaged 5,000 a day so far this month, up from an average of 4,600 a day last month.

The US remains at the top of the case list, last week passing more than four million cases and recording more than 1,000 deaths for four consecutive days.

Record global daily increase in cases on Friday: WHO.

Global deaths on Friday, the biggest one-day increase since April 30: WHO.

Number of countries to report record single-day increases in coronavirus infections over the past week, around double the number that did so the previous week: Reuters tally.

Early June was the last time the US recorded over 1,000 deaths a day for four days in a row, resulting from fallout from infections in April.

US deaths rose by at least 1,019 to total 145,352 on Friday compared with a rise of 1,140 on Thursday, 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases across the US rose by at least 68,800 on Friday to over four million.

Even though deaths are rising in the US for a second week in a row, they remain well below levels seen in April, when 2,000 people a day on average died from the virus.

Brazil and India - which epidemiologists say is still likely months from hitting their peaks - have also exceeded one million cases.

The data reveals a growing number of resurgent cases in countries across all regions.

In Australia, officials enforced a six-week partial lockdown and made face masks mandatory for residents in the country's second-largest city, Melbourne, after a fresh outbreak.

Australia and Japan, which also posted a daily case record last week, both warned of a rise in infections among young people, many of whom celebrated the end of social restrictions at bars and parties.

In Mexico, which also posted a daily record last week and has the fourth-highest death toll of any country, officials warned that a downward trend in case numbers that began in mid-June - about the time its capital city started relaxing social distancing measures - could reverse.

Based on the rate of hospital admissions over the past week, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said hospitalisation levels by October could exceed those registered in June, the height of the pandemic.

In Europe, where the summer vacation season is in full swing, a new daily record figure in Spain is likely to deter tourists from visiting one of the continent's most popular destinations.

In China, the health commission yesterday reported 34 new coronavirus cases for Friday, up from 21 cases a day earlier. Of the new infections, 20 were in the far western region of Xinjiang, according to a statement by the National Health Commission. Nine were in the north-eastern province of Liaoning, while the remaining five were imported cases.

REUTERS

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