WASHINGTON: Many countries have broken their own record for most daily coronavirus infections after weeks of relative calm and easing of lockdown measures.
Seven months after the coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, optimism over easing lockdowns has won out over surging coronavirus infections worldwide with more than 12.2 million recorded cases and nearly 555,000 deaths.
This week, the United States, Brazil, and India saw their new daily infection highs, becoming the worst virus-hit countries accounting for more than 60 percent of new cases.
Read more: WHO urges worst-hit countries to take control of virus outbreak
The United States, the hardest-hit in the world by the pandemic, has reported at least 60,565 new COVID-19 cases, a new record increase and the second day in row infections have risen by at least 60,000.
For the third day in a row, US deaths climbed by more than 800, the highest levels are seen since early June. Infections have been on the rise in 41 of the 50 US states for the past two weeks, with states like California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida recently breaking records.
India, in just three weeks, went from the world’s sixth worst-affected country by the coronavirus to the third, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. India’s fragile health system was bolstered during a stringent monthslong lockdown but could still be overwhelmed by an exponential rise in infections.
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