According to the World Health Organization, countries around the globe reported more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases last week, the shortest time for such an exponential increase since the pandemic began.
In a weekly analysis of COVID-19, WHO said the European region accounted for the biggest proportion of new cases for the second consecutive week, with more than 1.3 million reported cases or about 46% of the worldwide total. The U.N. health agency said deaths were also on the rise in Europe, with about a 35% spike since the previous week.
“Although the number of deaths is gradually increasing, the proportion of deaths to cases remains relatively low, compared to the early phase of the pandemic in the spring,” the WHO said.
The agency also noted that hospitalizations and ICU occupancy due to COVID-19 increased in 21 countries across Europe. It estimated about 18% of COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, with about 7% needing ICU support or breathing machines.
Globally, the WHO said the countries reporting the highest numbers of cases remain unchanged as for the last three weeks: India, the U.S., France, Brazil and the U.K.
More than 44 million coronavirus cases around the world have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with more than 1.1 million deaths. The U.S. leads the world in the number of cases — 8.7 million — and deaths, with close to 227,000.
India is second to the U.S. in confirmed cases, with nearly 8 million. Brazil is third, with 5.4 million cases, but second to the U.S. in deaths, at almost 158,000. India is third in the world in deaths, with just more than 120,000.
Around the world:
- France reported 523 virus-related deaths in 24 hours Tuesday, the highest daily tally since April. It is reporting tens of thousands of new infections per day and more than 380 new cases each week per 100,000 people.
- Coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic have again jumped to record levels amid new restrictive measures imposed by the government to curb the spread. The Health Ministry says the day-to-day increase hit a record high of 15,663 on Tuesday in the nation of more than 10 million. It’s over 400 more than the previous record set Friday. The hard-hit country had 284,033 confirmed cases, with over a half of them registered in the last two weeks. So far, 2,547 have died — with a record 139 deaths registered Monday.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for a partial lockdown as the number of newly recorded infections in the country hit another record high Wednesday. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control agency, said 14,964 new cases were recorded across the country in the past days, taking the total since the start of the outbreak to 449,275. Germany also saw 27 additional COVID deaths, raising its overall death toll to 10,098.
- Coronavirus is spreading in 17 of Sweden’s 21 counties, according to Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet. Worst hit is Scania, Sweden’s southern region around Malmo, the country’s third-largest city, where national authorities have urged people to avoid shopping centers and shops and stay away from public transportation.
- Poland hit a record in daily infections with more than 18,800 cases and also reported 236 new COVID-19 deaths. Total number of registered infections is almost 300,000 in the nation of 38 million. Many cities are building temporary hospitals and the government says there are enough beds and ventilators, but the system is short of trained medical personnel.
- India’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases is moving closer to 8 million, with 43,893 new cases reported for the latest 24-hour period. The total reported Wednesday includes the highest single-day number of cases for the Indian capital of New Delhi — 4,853. The Health Ministry also reported 508 fatalities from COVID-19 across India in the last 24 hours, raising the total for the pandemic to 120,010.
- Italy on Tuesday registered nearly 22,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since the previous day, its highest one-day total in the pandemic. The Health Ministry reported 221 more deaths. Italy’s total confirmed cases rose to 564,778, and the death toll reached 37,700.
- Spain is reporting more than 8,300 coronavirus cases in the last day and 746 more deaths in the last week. Spain’s Health Ministry has recorded a total of 1.1 million coronavirus cases, with nearly 35,300 dead.
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