Worldwide coronavirus cases surge past 32 million as Britain and France see record infections
- Russia reports highest daily increase since July, while residents across Europe chafe against stricter measures to contain pandemic
- Health experts criticise early models that predicted people in Africa dying in droves
The number of coronavirus infections passed the 32 million mark on Wednesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, as countries including Britain and France reported record case numbers.
Britain saw the highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day at 6,632. Public Health England Medical Director Yvonne Doyle said the figure was a “stark warning’’ as infections rose across all age groups. She said citizens must follow the new restrictions announced by the government this week to control the spread of the virus.
Britain has the highest death toll in Europe, with nearly 42,000 confirmed dead. The rise in cases announced on Thursday reflects both the spread of the virus and increased testing, which has more than doubled since the peak of the first wave in April and May.
France also reported a new record for daily coronavirus infections on Thursday a day after the government announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants in major cities that provoked an outcry from local politicians and business owners.
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Figures from Public Health France showed that 16,096 people had tested positive for Covid-19 over the last 24 hours, a record – even though experts advise that testing during the first coronavirus wave in March-April captured only a fraction of cases.
The centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of new measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the disease, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in Marseille and earlier closing times in Paris and elsewhere.
Faced with criticism from the mayors of Paris and Marseille, legal challenges and calls from some bar owners to defy the new orders, Prime Minister Jean Castex called for “responsibility” and implied his opponents were playing politics.
“What I don’t want is that we go back to March,” he said, referring to one of the strictest national lockdowns in Europe in which French people were required to fill out forms to leave their homes.
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Elsewhere in Europe, Madrid health authorities asked residents to brace themselves for tough weeks as the Spain’s cumulative caseload surpassed 700,000. More than 10,600 new infections on Thursday pushed the confirmed tally to 704,209 cases. The 84 new deaths bring the confirmed toll to 31,118.
The extended region around Madrid, comprising a population of 6.6 million, is struggling to control outbreaks that have hit harder working-class areas with high-density. More than 850,000 residents have been confined this week to their neighbourhoods unless they have vital business.
Hundreds of protests gathered on Thursday evening at the gates of several health centres in those areas to demand more resources for primary care medical personnel, who are grappling to test and follow up those suspected of having the virus.
In Italy, residents of Naples and the surrounding Campania region have been told to wear masks outdoors to combat an increase in coronavirus cases. On Thursday the country added 1,786 cases based on a record 108,019 tests. Another 23 people died, bringing Italy’s confirmed death toll to 35,781.
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Russian health officials reported 6,595 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily surge since July. In Moscow, more than 1,000 new cases were recorded for the first time since June.
The number of daily new cases started to grow in late August in Russia, which has the fourth largest caseload in the world at 1.12 million infections. There have been nearly 20,000 confirmed deaths.
Officials have repeatedly dismissed speculation of a second lockdown, saying the increase was expected and Russia’s health care infrastructure was prepared for it.
Russia was the first country in the world to approve a vaccine against the virus last month. The move elicited criticism from experts worldwide because the shots were tested on a few dozen people. More studies are needed to establish the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
Does dip in cases, deaths mean Africa has seen the worst of Covid-19?
Meanwhile, health experts are criticising the early modelling in the coronavirus pandemic that assumed people in Africa would die in droves.
Uganda hospital official Sam Agatre Okuonzi told a World Health Organization briefing it was predicted by September there would be 600,000 cases of Covid-19 and 30,000 deaths. However, Uganda has 6,800 confirmed cases and less than 100 deaths. All of Africa has confirmed more than 1.4 million cases and 34,000 deaths.
Okuonzi says the models were informed by “well-entrenched biases about Africa”.
WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti says Africa’s youthful population has made a difference, with just 3 per cent of the population over age 65. She says several countries imposed early lockdowns and there is less travel from other regions.
Some health experts are looking into whether exposure to previous coronaviruses has helped immune systems to better respond to this one. They’ve also said the continent’s experiences with previous outbreaks is likely helpful among the 54 countries and 1.3 billion people.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
