South Korea clamps down amid virus spike

South Korea has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases for the sixth straight day as the greater capital area entered stringent social distancing restrictions to slow transmissions.

The 1,100 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency were the highest ever for a Monday, when the daily increase is usually smaller because of reduced tests during the weekends. More than 780 of the cases were from capital Seoul and nearby Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, areas where officials have enforced the country's strongest social distancing measures starting Monday.

Private social gatherings of three or more people will be prohibited from 6 p.m., nightclubs and churches will be shut down, and visitors will be banned at hospitals and nursing homes.

South Korea has added more than 12,100 cases this month alone, brining its caseload to 169,146, including 2,044 deaths. The country last week set record daily increases for three straight days through Saturday, when it reported 1,378 new cases.

The viral surge is a worrisome development in a country where only 30.4% among a population of 51 million have received their first doses of vaccines. Authorities in Bangladesh say the country has registered the highest number of COVID-19 casualties and positive cases in a single day. The news comes amid concern that the coronavirus pandemic could worsen over the next seven days.

The government's Directorate General of Health Services said that 230 people died and 11,874 tested positive on Sunday. That's a single-day record on both counts.

About 100,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 10 days. Experts say if the present trend continues already overwhelmed hospitals would struggle to provide treatment. Bangladesh has been under a nationwide lockdown since July 1.

But new records of positive cases are being reported everyday. Overall, Bangladesh has reported more than 1 million positive cases, including 16,419 deaths, in the nation of 160 million people.

Russia's daily tally of confirmed coronavirus infections has exceeded 25,000 for the third day in a row. Authorities reported 25,033 new cases Sunday.

Russia has been facing a sharp rise of contagions in recent weeks, with daily new infections increasing from around 9,000 in early June to over 25,000 on Friday.

For the first time in the pandemic, the daily death toll exceeded 700 on Tuesday. It's remained at that level ever since, with 749 new deaths registered on Sunday.

Officials blame the surge on the spread of the delta variant. They're seeking to boost vaccine uptake, which has remained lower than in many Western countries. As of Wednesday, about 27 million Russians, or just 18.5% of the 146-million population, have received at least one shot of a vaccine, and 18.5 million, or 12.6%, have been fully vaccinated.

Health officials say Libya has seen an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases amid a slow vaccination program and concerns about the highly infectious delta variant. The number of new cases in the oil-rich country has risen more than six times since July 1, according to daily figures from Libya's National Center for Disease Control.

"We are facing an unprecedented situation," said Tareq Gibrael, a senior physician at the center. "The constantly rising curve of new cases shows that we are bracing for a third wave, especially now that the delta variant is spreading in neighboring countries.

We are in a very tough position." On Saturday, the North African country recorded 2,854 new cases, up from 719 a week earlier. So far, Libya has recorded more than 200,000 total cases, including 3,232 deaths. The actual figures are believed to be much higher given the scarcity of testing and the depletion of the country's health care system after almost a decade of civil war.

Britain's vaccines minister says that people in England are expected to continue wearing masks indoors from July 19 even though the legal requirement to do so would be dropped.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will confirm Monday whether most coronavirus restrictions including social distancing and mandatory mask-wearing will be lifted the following week as widely expected. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said new guidance will be issued Monday on maskwearing. He said there will be "an expectation of people to wear masks indoors, in crowded places, on public transport" instead of a legal requirement.