The World Health Organization has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases for a single day, with the total rising by 212,326 in 24 hours.
The latest:
- Spanish region of Catalonia imposes new lockout after surge in COVID-19 cases.
- U.S. holiday weekend adds to virus worries as case counts grow.
- P.E.I. confirms three new cases of COVID-19 after being in the clear since late April.
- Most people obey rules as England’s pubs reopen, health secretary says.
- South Africa’s COVID-19 count rises to 187,977, the continent’s highest.
- Recent outbreak in Beijing appears to have largely run its course.
Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia is under a new lockdown, with officials informing about 210,000 people in El Segria county to shelter in place, after more than 350 new cases of the novel coronavirus were detected.
Movement in and out of the region has been restricted to most traffic, and gatherings of more than 10 people have been prohibited. Police checkpoints will be used to enforce the lockdown order, according to media reports.
Residents were told they can leave their homes, but not the area, starting from noon Saturday. Those who need to leave for work will have to present a certificate from their employer, starting Tuesday.
Catalonia is one of the Spanish regions worst affected by COVID-19, with nearly 73,000 cases and more than 12,000 deaths. Spain has seen a quarter of a million cases and over 28,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The World Health Organization on Saturday reported more than 212,000 new cases of COVID-19 globally, a record for single day — while two states that have emerged as the latest hot hot spots of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, Texas and Florida, reported a combined daily count of nearly 20,000 additional infections.
The Geneva-based WHO said the highest number of new infections was reported from the Americas region, which includes the U.S. and Brazil.
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The United States has dipped under 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time in four days, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, but experts fear celebrations for the July 4th Independence Day weekend will act like fuel for the nation’s surging outbreak.
Johns Hopkins counted 45,300 new coronavirus infections in the U.S. on Saturday after three days in which the daily count reached as high as 54,500 new cases. The lower figure on Saturday does not necessarily mean the situation in the U.S. is improving, as it could be due to reduced reporting on a national holiday.
The United States has the most infections and virus-related deaths in the world, with 2.8 million cases and nearly 130,000 dead, according to the university. Experts say the true toll of the pandemic is significantly higher, due to people who died before they were tested and missed mild cases.
To show just how steep the current infection curve is in the U.S., the country was reporting under 20,000 new infections a day as recently as June 15.
At the same time, life is returning to normal in many places. In England this weekend, people were allowed to go to a pub, restaurant or hair s