The data shows that global cases are increasing to record levels, many of them in Latin America and Asia, in countries that never had control over the virus, such as Brazil, Mexico and India.
In other countries that have made good progress in reducing or containing the virus, including Germany, South Korea and Australia, the new spikes in case numbers highlight just how fragile the post-closure environment can be.
State Prime Minister Armin Laschet announced Tuesday that the entire Guetersloh district, which houses more than 360,000 people, would be closed for next week.
Daycare and schools in the district had already closed due to the outbreak, and restaurants, bars and gyms will now also close for a week. Outdoor gatherings of more than two people have again been banned.
The outbreak has raised the country’s Covid-19 (R) reproduction rate to 2.88, which means that each person with the virus is infecting an average of 2.88 more people. Germany has tried to keep the R below 1.
Health officials in South Korea, who in many ways gave the world a model textbook on how to respond to the virus, said Monday that a second wave of infections was already underway there, which began during a holiday period. in May.
Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country’s first wave had ended in April, when new cases dropped to around 10 a day. From a peak in late May, confirmed daily cases have typically been between 30 and 60. A total of 281 people have died from Covid-19 in South Korea.
“We have had more than 120 new cases in the past seven days and the primary cause of this increase has been through family cases,” said Victoria’s chief health professor, Professor Brett Sutton.
“People have not followed our advice about physical distance, hygiene and limiting the number of people you invite into your home,” he added.
An acceleration
In Brazil, Mexico, and India, the story is different: These countries have struggled to control the virus, and their case numbers continue to rise rapidly.
In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed the risk of the virus, cases increase by about 20,000 per day and deaths by about 1,000 daily. The country has the second highest number of infections in the world, with more than 1.1 million cases, while more than 50,000 people have died from the virus.
On Monday, Mexico recorded a higher daily death count than Brazil for the second consecutive day, with 759 newly recorded deaths and nearly 5,000 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to more than 185,000 and the number of deaths to more than 22,500.
It is the same trend in India, which has reported more than 100,000 new cases in the past eight days. He now has more than 440,000 cases and 14,000 confirmed deaths. The country imposed a blockade in late March, but quickly began easing the restrictions. Indians report that hospitals are overwhelmed and people seeking tests and treatment are being rejected.
All total cases and deaths are from Johns Hopkins University.
CNN’s Hanna Ziady, Stephanie Halasz and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
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