WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases

PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases for the second day in a row (Saturday), with the total rising by 259,848 in 24 hours.

The biggest increases reported on Saturday were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report.

The previous WHO record for new cases was 237,743 on Friday. Deaths rose by 7,360, the biggest one-day increase since May. 10.

Deaths have been averaging 4,800 a day in July, up slightly from an average of 4,600 a day in June.

Total global coronavirus cases surpassed 14 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed nearly 600,000 people in seven months.

The WHO reported 71,484 new cases in the United States, 45,403 in Brazil, 34,884 in India and 13,373 in South Africa.

India on Friday became the third country in the world to record more than 1 million cases of the new coronavirus, behind only the United States and Brazil. Epidemiologists say India is still likely months from hitting its peak.

Cases in Brazil crossed the 2 million mark on Thursday, doubling in less than a month and adding nearly 40,000 new cases a day.

A patchwork of state and city responses has held up poorly in Brazil in the absence of a tightly coordinated policy from the federal government.

The United States, which leads with the world with over 3.7 million cases, has also tried to curb the outbreak at the state and local levels with only limited success.

More from International News

  • Israeli attacks on Gaza killed 60 people in 24 hours

    Israeli occupation forces committed multiple massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, resulting in the killing of at least 60 Palestinians and the injury of 162 others, according to medical reports.

  • Trump fires National Security Agency director

    U.S. President Donald Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency on Thursday, according to two officials familiar with the decision, and congressional Democrats denounced the removal of the nonpartisan official from a top security post.

  • Israel steps up Syria strikes, says Turkey aims for 'protectorate'

    Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria, declaring the attacks a warning to the new rulers in Damascus as it accused their ally Turkey of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

  • US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden delayed

    The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Reuters, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden had delayed.

Blogs