‘PANDEMIC FAR FROM OVER’
WHO delivered a grave warning that the pandemic is accelerating.
GENEVA/WASHINGTON:The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, with the number of daily cases surging beyond a record of 160,000 in the past week, a record.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also told a virtual briefing that more than half of all cases recorded since the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year were registered in June.
“For the past week, the number of the new cases has exceeded 160,000 on every single day,” he said, adding that “60% of all cases so far have been reported just in the past month”.
Data showed that the highest number of new daily Covid-19 cases ever recorded came on June 28, when over 189,500 new cases were registered worldwide.
Prior to June 25, daily cases only surpassed 160,000 twice before, both in the preceding week, while daily cases did not pass the 100,000 mark until May 18, the data showed.
The virus has so far claimed over 511,000 lives and infected more than 10.5 million people.
US SEES RECORD 52,000 NEW CASES IN 24 HOURS
The US saw more than 52,000 new cases in 24 hours on Wednesday, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed, yet another one-day record as infections surged around the country.
The tracker showed 52,898 new cases, taking the total number since the pandemic reached the US to 2,682,270. The university recorded a 706 new fatalities, taking the total toll to 128,028.
Brazil surpassed 60,000 deaths on Wednesday. A total of 1,038 new deaths were registered, taking the overall number of fatalities to 60,632. Total confirmed cases were revised to 1,448,753.
Mexico’s deaths rose by 741 to reach 28,510, leading the country to overtake Spain and have the world’s sixth deadliest outbreak, according to latest figures.
The WHO said smoking is linked to a higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19 in hospitalised patients. In a scientific brief published this week, the WHO reviewed 34 published studies on the association between smoking and Covid-19. It noted that smokers represent up to 18% of hospitalised coronavirus patients.