Virus bites back in Europe as Latin America deaths surge
Global health authorities said European countries should be able to ride out a surge in coronavirus cases without reimposing full lockdowns, as the World Bank warned the crisis could push 100 million people into extreme poverty.
Worrying spikes in cases reported Thursday in France, Italy, Spain and Germany showed the pandemic was rebounding across the continent – often due to travel, summer holidays and parties.
While Italy registered 845 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily tally since May, France reported 4,700 fresh infections – a massive increase on the previous day. Spain’s daily increases topped even those of France, and Germany was concerned about its own resurgence.
Despite the rise in cases, a top World Health Organisation official said additional lockdowns should not be necessary. The Washington-based development lender previously estimated that 60 million people would fall into extreme poverty, but the new estimate puts the deterioration at 70 to 100 million, and he said “that number could go higher” if the pandemic worsens or drags on, which is possible.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus in Latin America surged past 250,000.
Nine months after the virus began sweeping across the world last December, the pandemic has hit the Americas harder than anywhere else.
Latin America and the Caribbean recorded nearly 6.5 million infections and 250,969 deaths on Thursday, according to a tally based on official national figures. Globally, the virus has claimed at least 788,242 lives.
Brazil is the region’s worst-affected country with 3.5 million cases and more than 112,000 deaths.