World hits new record with over 160K confirmed coronavirus cases: WHO
As the global coronavirus pandemic accelerates, June saw more than half of all cases reported with over 160,000 new infections reported every day during the past week, WHO says
THE GLOBAL number of daily coronavirus cases hit a new record in June, surging beyond 160,000 every day in the past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday, as many countries are reporting their highest daily tolls, including the U.S., which smashed a new record. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing that well over 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 provided by the U.N. health agency showed that the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases ever recorded came on June 28, when more than 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. With over 10 million known infections worldwide and more than 500,000 deaths, the pandemic is “not even close to being over,” the WHO warned earlier this week.
US SEES RECORD DAILY CASES
As the world battles against the resurgence of outbreaks, the U.S. has reported yet another record daily number of new coronavirus infections, over 50,700 cases, according to a tally being kept by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. is experiencing a surge of new cases, especially in the South and West, as states have reopened their economies from coast to coast. California closed bars, theaters and indoor restaurant dining all over again across most of the state Wednesday, and Arizona’s outbreak grew more severe. The California shutdown announcement, which came just ahead of a Fourth of July weekend that could fuel the spread of the virus, applies to about 30 million people, including Los Angeles County. The surge in new cases has been blamed in part on Americans not wearing masks or obeying social-distancing rules.
The Pan American Health Organization warned that the death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean could quadruple to more than 400,000 by October without stricter public health measures. Brazil has suffered the most deaths globally for the last week, and is the second-worst affected country overall. It topped 60,000 total fatalities Wednesday, after suffering 1,000 deaths in just 24 hours.
LARGEST SPIKE IN ISRAEL, PALESTINE
In other parts of the world, coronavirus restrictions went into effect in Israel yesterday after the number of new cases there hit a record high the previous day, while the West Bank prepares to go into lockdown. The Health Ministry reported that 966 infections were registered in Israel in 24 hours on Wednesday. The highest number of new cases in one day had previously been 819, on April 13. As a result, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Health Ministry declared restricted zones in various Israeli neighborhoods, including in the cities of Ashdod and Lod. Entry and exit will be limited for seven days, as will traffic and businesses within those zones. The situation has also deteriorated in the West Bank, where a five-day lockdown will be implemented starting Friday, according to a Palestinian government spokesman. All shops except for supermarkets, bakeries and pharmacies would also be affected by the measure, spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said. Israel and the Palestinian Territories were initially relatively mildly affected by the pandemic. However, the number of new infections steadily picked up again since late May as lockdown measures eased.
In Asia, Japan and Indonesia saw their highest daily tolls of cases. The Japanese capital confirmed 107 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest since early May, raising concern about a possible resurgence of the disease just as businesses return to normal. Indonesia reported 1,624 coronavirus infections yesterday in its biggest jump in new cases since the epidemic began.