The seven-day average for new daily cases has been above a quarter of a million for two weeks.
Brazil has recorded more than three million cases and 100,000 deaths, second only to the United States, which is by far the least affected country with more than five million cases and 160,000 deaths.
However, the death toll from India remains relatively low, according to JHU data. India has about three deaths per 100,000 or just over 44,000 in total, compared to almost 67 deaths per 100,000 or more than 46,000 in the UK, which has the highest stars of the top 20 most affected countries.
The United Kingdom is among several European countries that are seeing new infection clusters in fear of a second wave. Stay-at-home orders have been put in place in parts of northern England where outbreaks have been identified. The UK registered 1,113 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total to more than 310,000.
Spain saw a rapid increase in case numbers last week, with 4,507 new cases recorded on Friday. Daily figures have reached levels not seen before ending its state of emergency on June 21, with the country reporting a total of more than 314,000 cases and 28,000 deaths.
France’s top scientists warned last week that its situation was “fragile” and “could change course at any moment to a less controlled scenario such as in Spain.” Paris has introduced mandatory mask wear in outlying areas as national daily falls reach 3,877 on Friday – the highest since May. Belgium has also seen a fresh spike – its weekly average number of new infections rose 62% in the last week of July compared to the previous week, according to the country’s health authorities.
Africa confirmed more than one million Covid-19 cases on Friday, according to a CNN census based on JHU data.
South Africa has more than half of the continent’s reported cases, with more than 550,000 confirmed infections, the fifth highest count worldwide, and more than 10,000 deaths.
The Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, warned on Thursday that the lack of testing across Africa remains a constant and ongoing challenge. ‘
Covid-19 is now spreading worldwide among younger people, with the proportion of cases among teens and young adults up by six times, and in young children and babies by sevenfold, WHO said. The increase might be explained by broader testing, greater detection of milder cases and shifts in hotspot demographics, but “an increase in risky behaviors following declining public health and social measures” is also to blame, the bureau said.
“Behind these statistics is a lot of pain and suffering,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news release in Geneva on Monday.
Tedros cited countries such as New Zealand and Rwanda as examples of places doing well in the fight against Covid-19.
New Zealand celebrated 100 days with no communications transmission, while Rwanda sees progress thanks to similar steps, he said. Testing and treatment are free, people who test positive, and all their potential contacts are visited and tested by health professionals.
“I know that many of you are sad, and that this is a difficult moment for the world,” Tedros said. “But I want to be clear: There are green shoots of hope and that does not matter where a country, a region, a city or a city is – it is never too late to reverse the outbreak.”
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