The coronavirus pandemic appears to be accelerating worldwide, with new cases soaring last week to a new seven-day high of almost two million, even as new deaths decreased, WHO statistics showed. In a fresh global update, the World Health Organization said that during the week ending on September 20, 1,998,897 new cases of the novel coronavirus were registered around the world. That marks a 6 per cent increase over a week earlier and “the highest number of reported cases in a single week since the beginning of the epidemic,” the UN health agency said. Since the novel coronavirus was first detected in China, it has infected more than 31 million people around the globe and has killed more than 965,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly all regions of the world saw new cases rise last week, WHO said, with Europe and the Americas seeing new cases swell by 11 and 10 per cent respectively. Only Africa, which has remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic, dodged the upwards trend, reporting a 12 per cent drop in fresh cases from a week earlier. Even as cases shot up across much of the world, the number of new deaths is going down, the WHO statistics showed. Last week, some 37,700 new deaths linked to the virus were recorded worldwide, marking a decline of 10 per cent compared to the previous week. The decline was driven by the Americas, long the hardest-hit region, where new deaths were 22 per cent lower than a week earlier, and by Africa where new deaths dropped 16 per cent. The Americas meanwhile still accounts for half of all reported cases and 55 per cent of deaths in the world. The clear drop in new deaths in the region were driven mainly by decreases in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia. The United States, which is the world’s worst-hit country, and Brazil, the second-worst hit, continued to report the highest number of deaths, each reporting over 5,000 new deaths in the past week. As the pursuit for a vaccine accelerates, calls grow for transparency in clinical trials Europe, some of which is experiencing a second wave of infections, meanwhile saw its new death count shoot up to over 4,000 for the seven-day period, a 27 per cent hike compared to a week earlier. In Europe, France, Russia, Spain and Britain reported the highest number of new cases in the past week, while Hungary and Denmark reported the highest relative increase in deaths. Britain continues to count the highest number of cumulative deaths on the continent at nearly 42,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. The UK government on Tuesday tightened restrictions to stem a rising tide of coronavirus cases, ordering pubs in England to shut early and abandoning calls for people to return to the workplace to help kick-start the battered economy. “This is the moment we must act,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament. “We’re acting on the principle that a stitch in time, saves nine.” Johnson said the measures, which could be in place for up to six months, would be bolstered by greater penalties for infringements, a boosted police presence and military backup. “If all our actions fail to bring the R (reproduction rate) below one, then we reserve the right to deploy greater firepower with significantly greater restrictions,” he added. “Your harmless cough can be someone else’s death knell,” he warned. Britain raises virus alert level, warning of high transmission Government scientists have painted a grim picture of up to 50,000 coronavirus cases a day by mid-October and more than 200 deaths a day a month later if no action is taken. As part of the tightened restrictions, pubs, bars and restaurants will have to close early at 10pm from Thursday, while face coverings will be made compulsory for staff in retail, as well as in taxis. From Monday, weddings and receptions will only be allowed a maximum of 15 people, although funerals can still have up to 30 in attendance. The planned phased return of fans to live sporting events in England from October 1 was also halted. But Johnson’s call for people to work from home again wherever possible comes just months after the government encouraged the opposite. “If it is possible for people to work from home, then we’d encourage them to do so,” Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Sky News on Tuesday. “There is going to be a shift in emphasis.” “No-one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses,” Johnson’s office said. “We know this won’t be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus.” Japanese firm Ushio launches UV light that kills coronavirus Ministers were trying to strike a balance between controlling the pandemic and avoiding a full lockdown that risks snuffing out the UK economy’s recovery from the deepest recession for more than 100 years. Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance warned on Monday that the current infection rate, at which the number of cases is doubling every week, could lead to 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October without urgent action. Political pressure was also growing for other European governments to tackle the rising number of coronavirus cases without resorting to a spring-style lockdown. Data released by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed five countries in the region with more than 120 confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. Spain was ranked top of the grim table, with almost all of its regions coloured crimson on a map that also showed swathes of dark red spreading across southern France, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Romania. Madrid’s rate of infection of 683 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past two weeks is nearly three times higher than the national average. More than 150 nations join global coronavirus vaccine plan, but US and China absent Police in the Spanish capital and its surrounding towns began stopping people coming in and out of working-class neighbourhoods that have seen 14-day transmission rates above 1,000 per 100,000 inhabitants. In the Czech Republic, Health Minister Adam Vojtech resigned Monday amid a record rise of coronavirus infections, saying his move should create space for a new approach to the pandemic. French health authorities have started opening new testing centres in the Paris region to try to reduce queues and delays as the number of virus infections steadily increases. German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Monday with members of her “Coronavirus Cabinet” to discuss measures aimed at preventing a second wave. While Germany as a whole has seen a smaller rise in new infections than many other European countries, Health Minister Jens Spahn cautioned that the spikes seen in neighbouring nations would likely affect the German case numbers too. India reported its lowest daily tally of coronavirus cases in almost a month on Tuesday as it prepares for clinical trials of a potential Russian vaccine in the next few weeks. Federal health data showed 75,083 new cases in the last 24 hours, and 1,053 deaths over the same period. There have been 5.6 million cases in total in the country, second only behind the United States. The total death toll stands at 88,935 people. Coronavirus: Taj Mahal reopens, Singapore develops robot test Despite the fall in cases on Tuesday, India is consistently reporting the highest tally of daily cases anywhere in the world as a dense population and often rudimentary health care infrastructure hamper attempts to control the pandemic. On Tuesday Indian drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd said it could begin late-stage trials of a vaccine within the next few weeks. Indian trials of the Sputnik-V vaccine candidate, being developed by Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, will enrol 1,000-2,000 participants and be conducted at multiple government and private hospitals across the country. Can Jakarta get its raging Covid-19 outbreak under control? In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte extended a state of calamity in the entire country by a year to allow the government to draw emergency funds faster to fight the pandemic and harness the police and military to maintain law and order. Duterte first placed the country under a state of calamity in March when the number of confirmed infections was approaching 200 with about a dozen deaths. The country now has more than 290,000 confirmed cases, the highest in Southeast Asia, with nearly 5,000 deaths. Bloomberg, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters