The World Health Organization (WHO), reported a record increase in the global coronavirus cases with the total rising by 284,196 within 24 hours on Friday.
WHO reports that deaths rose by 9,753, which is the biggest single-day increase since a record high of 9,797 deaths was recorded on April 30. The previous WHO record for daily new cases was 259,848 on July 18.
The death rate had been an average of 5,000 per day in July, up from an average of 4,600 per day in the month of June.
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According to the WHO, this is the first time the number of new daily infections has surpassed a quarter of a million. The biggest increases were recorded in the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa.
The UN health agency reported 69,641 new cases in US, 67,860 cases in Brazil, 49,310 cases in India and 13,104 cases in South Africa.
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The global death toll from the coronavirus disease rose by 7,360, the largest daily increase in May with the biggest increases of 3,876 deaths in Peru, 1,284 deaths in Brazil, 1,074 in the United States, 790 in Mexico and 740 in India.
The cases are surging in several states in the US, particularly in southern states that were initially reluctant to enforce lockdowns or mandate wearing of face masks. States like Texas, Florida and Arizona have seen high surges in cases. Florida is currently the epicenter of the pandemic in the US with more than 10,000 new infections. This brings the total number of cases to 337,000 with a death toll of over 5,000.
Peru recently reviewed its COVID-19 data and in a single day increased its total death toll by 3,000 to a total of over 17,000 fatalities.
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India on July 17, became the third country in the world to record more than 1 million cases of the coronavirus disease, behind only to the United States and Brazil. Epidemiologists revealed that India is most likely months away from hitting its peak.
South Africa, which had one of the largest single-day increase in cases, has the highest number of confirmed cases in Africa.
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The Western European countries, which have managed to largely contain the spread of the virus, are now beginning to reopen their borders and businesses.
