Nations brace for new coronavirus outbreaks as global death toll nears 750,000
- United States leads world with number of reported cases and deaths
- Nations such as Germany see infections jump amid concerning trend
The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic was expected to surpass 750,000 in days as nations braced for new outbreaks.
The number of confirmed infections worldwide since the virus was first detected in China late last year was 20,307,862 at 6pm Hong Kong time on Wednesday, with at least 741,737 deaths, according to a tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.
In the United States, the world’s worst hit nation, the death toll had risen to 164,537 with a caseload of infections at more than 5.14 million.
Just seven weeks after bringing its first coronavirus wave under control, experts say Spain was once again in a “critical” situation with the worst infection rate in western Europe. Authorities have ordered nationwide mask-wearing in public places and some regions have returned to lockdown.
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The country reported an average of 4,923 new daily cases of the respiratory disease during the week, a higher amount than that of Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined.
The spike has led a growing list of countries to impose restrictions on travel to Spain, which has nearly 323,000 confirmed cases of the disease, the highest number in western Europe and 11th highest in the world.
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“It’s a critical moment, we are right at a point where things can get better or worse,” said Salvador Macip, an expert in health sciences at Catalonia’s Open University who has written a book called The Great Modern Plagues.
The European Union’s ECDC health agency urged European countries to reinstate some controls as new cases began to pick up again.
Wearing a face mask became compulsory on Wednesday in all public places in Brussels as the number of Covid-19 infections rose to a government alert level that puts the city among the worst affected in Europe.
The Belgian capital, which hosts the headquarters of the European Union and Nato, recorded on average 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants daily over the last week.
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France has also reimposed mask-wearing in certain crowded areas and tourist hotspots of the capital Paris.
Germany recorded the biggest daily increase in new cases in more than three months, data showed on Wednesday, with the health minister warning of outbreaks in nearly all parts of the country due to holiday returnees and partygoers.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 1,226 to 218,519, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed. That was the biggest daily increase since May 9.
“This is, no doubt, very worrying,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said. “Because we now have a lot of outbreaks all over the country.
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In the Asia-Pacific region, the Australian state of Victoria reported a record 21 virus deaths and 410 new cases from an outbreak in the city of Melbourne that has prompted a strict lockdown. That came as health authorities in New Zealand were scrambling to trace the source of a new outbreak as the nation’s largest city Auckland went back into lockdown.
India’s coronavirus caseload topped 2.3 million after adding 60,963 new cases in 24 hours. India also reported 834 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 46,091. India has the third-highest caseload after the United States and Brazil.
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Singapore’s government said most foreign workers can now resume work as their dormitories have been cleared of Covid-19 after months of lockdown and virus testing. People living in the crowded dormitories were the bulk of Singapore’s 55,353 cases. Only 27 deaths have been recorded in the city state.
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The remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan this week announced its first coronavirus lockdown after having been largely shielded from the disease for months. The lockdown is expected to last between five days and a maximum of three weeks, domestic media reported.
The global race for a vaccine is also heating up as nations try to restart economies battered by months of lockdown.
The World Health Organisation said it was too soon for any WHO stamp of approval and top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said he hoped, but “seriously doubts” that Russia has developed a safe and effective vaccine that was ready for use.
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However, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte praised Russia and offered to be the “first one to be experimented on” as his country emerged as a front runner for overseas clinical trials.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters, DPA
