Records mark disease’s global march

WASHINGTON — The spread of COVID- 19 is on a spiraling trend in many parts of the world, and record daily increases in infections have been refreshed more frequently in some European countries.

The Italian government said on Saturday that it planned further restrictions to contain a resurgence of the pandemic as the country reported another daily record for COVID- 19 cases, despite a second night of street protests against curfews ordered last week.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said he wants to avoid a repeat of the blanket lockdown earlier in the year. But a number of regions have imposed curfews, and the central government is expected to announce more measures soon.

According to a draft decree circulated on Saturday, public gyms and swimming pools may be closed and bars and restaurants told to shut from 6 pm, while people will be encouraged not to travel outside their home districts.

Earlier last week curfews were ordered by local governors in Campania, the area around Naples, Lazio around Rome, and Lombardy.

In France, hospitals cannot avoid the impact of the rapidly spreading epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday.

The spread of the virus in the country has accelerated rapidly in recent weeks, with the total number of confirmed infections exceeding 1 million on Friday.

“Taking into account the spread of the epidemic today, we know that whatever we do, in 15 days we will see the consequences of these infections,” Veran said.

‘ Progression not over’

Two weeks ago France was registering about 20,000 new daily infections, with about 20 people a day entering intensive care units. On Friday 122 people were admitted to intensive care units.

“The progression of the epidemic is not over,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said. “We still have hard times ahead of us.”

A curfew in Paris and eight other major cities was extended on Friday to large parts of rural France. The lockdown, between 9 pm and 6 am, will now cover 46 million people, or more than two- thirds of the population, and will remain in place for six weeks.

The World Health Organization said on Saturday that it will provide $ 2 million in aid for Iraq to cope with the COVID- 19 pandemic, which has infected more than 449,000 Iraqis.

Wael Hatahit, head of the WHO’s emergency team in Iraq, said the agency will provide medical assistance for Iraq during the last months of this year to support the country’s health sector in containing the virus.

In Africa the number of confirmed cases in the continent had reached 1,696,286, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

The death toll related to the pandemic stood at 40,922 on Saturday afternoon, the agency said.

A total of 1,394,094 people infected with COVID- 19 have recovered across the continent, it said.