■ As the U.K. hit a daily coronavirus record, teachers unions pressed to keep schools closed.

Teachers unions push to keep schools closed across England

LONDON — With daily coronavirus infections surging as a result of a new virus variant, the British government faced mounting pressure Saturday from teachers unions to keep schools in England closed for at least another two weeks.

The government, which oversees schools in England, has already decided to keep all schools in London closed next week to try to stem new infections. Unions want the policy extended across the whole of England, expressing fears about the health of teachers and children.

The U.K. on Saturday hit a daily record for new coronavirus infections — 57,725 — and looked set to overtake Italy once again to become the worst-hit country in Europe with nearly 75,000 COVID-19 deaths. The fear is that with rising infections, the number of deaths will also grow over the coming weeks.

The U.K. has recorded its five highest daily new infection numbers over the past five days — all above 50,000 and double the number of only a few weeks ago.

After an emergency meeting Saturday, the National Education Union, which represents over 450,000 education workers, called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government to move learning online for at least two weeks.

The government’s own Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warned at a Dec. 22 meeting that schools needed to stay closed.

The U.K. is struggling with a sharp spike in new cases as a result of a new virus variant that officials say could be up to 70 percent more infectious. In other global developments:

■ A French prosecutor said police detained seven people Saturday, including two alleged organizers, after a New Year’s Eve rave drew at least 2,500 people in western France despite a coronavirus curfew and other restrictions.

French Interior Minister Gerald

Darmanin tweeted that actions by police around the site at Lieuron, in Brittany, “led to the end of the illegal party without violence” on Saturday morning, 36 hours after it began.

■ Australia’s leading medical group said the New South Wales state government has put the rest of the country at risk by its decision not to go “hard and early” in its response to the COVID-19 outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches, which is suspected to have also caused new cases in neighboring Victoria state.

On Saturday, Victoria recorded 10 new local cases, bringing active cases in the state to 29. Trace testing has linked the new Melbourne coronavirus cluster to the New South Wales outbreak.

■ The northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang is testing millions of residents following a small but persistent growth in cases. The city in Liaoning province just north of the capital confirmed seven new cases of COVID-19 on the first day of the year, while another case was reported in Beijing.