By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Coronavirus has marked a new milestone with 505,468 deaths worldwide since the outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan in China in December 2019, but Nigeria still has one of the lowest rates per population at 565 deaths and 24,567 cases.
Globally, the total of cases has reached 10,294,409 according to live updates by worldometers.info.
The United States remains on the leader board in both deaths and cases, followed by Brazil. China has managed its death toll at 4,634 and cases at 83,512.
The top 10 countries now most impacted by the disease are
United States – 128,461 (deaths) 2,640,080 (cases)
Brazil – 57,659 (deaths) 1,345,470 (cases)
United Kingdom – 43,575 (deaths) 311,965 (cases)
Italy – 34,738 (deaths) 240,310 (cases)
France – 29,778 (deaths) 162,936 (cases)
Spain – 28,343 (deaths) 295,850 (cases)
Mexico – 26,648 (deaths) 216,852 (cases)
India – 16,757 (deaths) 559,910 (cases)
Iran – 10,670 (deaths) 225,205 (cases)
Belgium – 9,732 (deaths) 61,361 (cases)
Resurgence in U.S.
In the past few days, the Covid-19 crisis has deepened in the U.S., where only two states – Connecticut and Rhode Island – have recorded a recent decline in cases, according to CNN.
A rise in cases was reported across a staggering 36 U.S. states last week. In Florida, officials recorded 9,585 new cases on Saturday, a single-day record since the start of the pandemic. On Sunday the state reported another 8,530 new cases.
Weeks after many U.S. states began reopening after lockdown, at least a dozen have halted their plans to further ease restrictions.
The governor of Texas, America’s second most populous state, paused the region’s phased reopening plan on Thursday and ordered further restrictions on businesses including bars.
The governors of states including Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina have all announced that they will not be proceeding to the next stage of reopening.
Some governors have partially attributed their state surges to more widespread testing.
But former Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Dr. Tom Frieden, told Fox News on Sunday that the increase in cases across the American South was due to the country reopening too fast.
Other countries which had begun to emerge from lockdown are also struggling as officials grapple with local outbreaks.
China
Around 400,000 people in Anxin county near Beijing have been placed under lockdown measures after a small increase in cases in the area.
People in the area are only allowed to send one family member out of their house daily to purchase supplies, and all non-locally registered vehicles are banned from entering the province, a local government statement said.
India
India has recorded more than 100,000 new Covid-19 infections in the past six days as cases surge across the country. Fears are mounting over the situation in Delhi where hospitals are struggling with a shortage of medics and beds for patients.
The nation’s health ministry said Monday that 548,318 people had been infected in total, while 16,475 had died.
Australia
Authorities are trying to contain an outbreak in Victoria state. Health officials recorded 75 positive results on Sunday, the state’s largest single-daily increase in cases since March 30.
Victoria’s health officials have mounted a “testing blitz” in the state and say they have conducted 53,000 tests in the area since the process began on June 25.
UK
In England, there’s a cluster in the city of Leicester. A lawmaker representing the area has called for a local lockdown in the city.
Authorities have recorded 866 Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks in Leicester, according to the PA news agency.
Cases also continue to rise in Latin America, one of the key drivers behind the record rise in global cases over the past several weeks.
Brazil
Brazil reported 30,476 new cases in 24 hours on Sunday. The country has recorded more than 1.3 million cases, yet reopening continues in cities, including Rio de Janeiro.
Mexico
The president announced that the capital, Mexico City, would gradually begin to reopen on Monday, even though another 4,050 new cases were reported Sunday.
Mexico has the 7th highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the world, behind Spain.
Colombia, Peru
Both Colombia and Peru also reported surging cases.
Colombia’s case tally is now at 91,995, and on Sunday officials recorded 167 new deaths, the highest daily death toll reported by the country since the beginning of June.