Governments are stepping up testing and reimposing restrictions as newly confirmed coronavirus infections increase in many countries. India reported 20,000 on Monday, while the number of cases in the US is growing at approximately 40,000 per day.
The United States reported 38,800 recently confirmed infections Monday, totaling more than 2.5 million, or about a quarter of the more than 10 million cases worldwide, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
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Experts say the actual numbers, both in the US and globally, are likely much higher, in part due to the limitations of the tests and the large number of people without symptoms.
Beaches are closing and beer is being wasted as Florida, Texas, and other states backtrack on their reopens, mandating the mandatory use of masks in public and closing restaurants and bars.
India’s 20,000 new infections were another record. Several Indian states re-imposed partial or total blockades after the total number of cases increased by almost 100,000 in a week to approximately 548,000.
In China, almost 8.3 million of the approximately 21 million have been tested in recent weeks in Beijing after an outbreak focused on a wholesale market. The country reported only 12 new cases on Monday, including seven in Beijing.
South Korean authorities reported 47 new cases as they struggled to curb outbreaks that have spread from Seoul to other regions.
Widespread testing and contact tracing helped South Korea contain its initial outbreak in which it was encountering hundreds of new cases per day in late February and early March. Most of those cases were in the area surrounding Daegu City, where many were linked to a single church with thousands of members.
Medical student Kimberly Olivares, left, takes a sample from a patient at a free COVID-19 test site provided by United Memorial Medical Center, Sunday, June 28, 2020, at the Mexican Consulate in Houston. Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Texas continue to rise. On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott closed the bars again and reduced the number of restaurants as cases rose to record levels after the state embarked on one of the fastest reopens in the United States.
(AP Photo / David J. Phillip)
Tracking recent broadcasts in the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the country’s 51 million people live, has proven to be more difficult.
South Korean authorities have said they are preparing to impose stricter social distancing measures, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, closing schools, stopping professional sports and restricting nonessential business, if the daily rise in infections is doubles more than twice in a week.
Health authorities are using what they describe as the world’s first saliva test for coronavirus in Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, where the disease is spreading at an alarming rate.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said Monday that 75 people had tested positive for the state in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to approximately 2,100.
Brett Sutton, Victoria’s director of health, said the outbreak could spiral out of control as restrictions ease in other parts of Australia.
“I think we are at the forefront in terms of being able to handle it,” Sutton said.
In the Philippines, a Southeast Asian coronavirus hot spot with more than 35,000 confirmed infections, local officials were criticized for allowing a parade and street dance during a weekend religious festival honoring Saint John the Baptist despite prohibitions against public meetings.
Performers wearing masks and native masks danced during the night procession, which drew a large crowd in the Basak village of Cebu. Restrictions have been eased in many places to help save the Philippine economy, but Cebu resumed a tight shutdown this month after new cases increased.
The European Union is preparing a list of 15 countries whose citizens will be able to visit the bloc starting on Wednesday, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya told the Cadena SER radio network. Due to the resurgence in the United States, the United States may not be on that list.
“This is not an exercise in being friendly or hostile to other countries. This is an exercise of own responsibility, ”he said.
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Travelers at Frankfurt airport, Germany’s largest, will be able to get a coronavirus test on-site before taking off. The walk-in testing center opened Monday.
Rapid tests that give results within two or three hours will cost 139 euros ($ 156). Regular tests with results available within six to 12 hours cost 59 euros ($ 52).
Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. Associated Press reporters from around the world contributed to this report.
