Published on 12:00 AM, June 28, 2020

US hits record daily cases

Top virus expert warns Americans facing ‘serious problem’ in certain areas; India passes 500,000 cases

America's top infectious diseases expert has warned the United States is facing a "serious problem" from a resurgent coronavirus as the illness puts the brakes on reopening two of the country's largest states.

Texas and Florida closed bars and re-imposed other curbs on Friday as the number of infections in the US hit a single-day record with increases in 16 states, mostly in the south and west.

The contagion also continued its march through Latin America, where Brazil recorded another 1,140 deaths and Argentina toughened a lockdown in the capital Buenos Aires.

India now has more than 500,000 confirmed cases, according to government figures that show a record daily leap of 18,500 new infections.

"Unlike China, where the pandemic was relatively more concentrated around Wuhan and a few other cities, India has a more diffused spread that makes it a bit more challenging for the healthcare system," said Anant Bhan, a leading public health expert

India may see several peaks in coming months because the spread of the virus "is variable across the country", he said.

In Europe countries wrangled over plans to partially reopen the EU border, with officials fretting over the reliability of virus data from abroad, notably China, where Covid-19 first emerged late last year.

Much of the Western world is pressing ahead with lifting restrictions on daily life despite warnings from health officials that haste could cost more lives.

"We are facing a serious problem in certain areas," leading US immunologist Anthony Fauci said at the first briefing in two months by the White House's Coronavirus Task Force.

"The only way we're going to end it is by ending it together," he said of the outbreak.

The US is recording more than 30,000 cases daily. With nearly 125,000 lives lost, it has by far the highest confirmed death toll in the world.

Texas had been among the most aggressive states in easing curbs but its strategy has backfired with the nation's second most populous state seeing several daily records in the number of new infections.

"It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars," Governor Greg Abbott said.

BORDER WRANGLING

European diplomats said they planned to exclude the US from travel to the continent when the bloc's external frontier reopens on July 1.

EU envoys have argued on drawing up criteria and sources told AFP a meeting on Friday ended with a tentative list of about 18 countries free to travel.

With nations around the world at different stages on the outbreak curve, agreeing on "travel corridors" has proved tricky.

Britain said it will lift its two-week quarantine rule for visitors arriving from some "low-risk" countries after pressure from airlines.

Sweden lashed out at the World Health Organization for listing it among countries deemed at-risk. The country made headlines for its high death toll after opting not to introduce a strict lockdown.

"We have an increase in cases because we have begun testing much more in Sweden the past week," said Swedish state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.

More than 494,000 people worldwide have now died from the virus and the number of cases is expected to reach 10 million in the next week.

Much of the global count has come from Latin America, where Brazil, the hardest-hit nation in the region, has logged almost 55,000 deaths and more than 1.2 million cases.

In neighbouring Argentina President Alberto Fernandez announced a tightening of lockdown measures in the capital as cases spike, adding people could only leave home "to fetch provisions for daily life".

With much of the world under lockdown for months, the virus has crippled economies and signs of the damage have been widespread.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the country's economic problems will worsen if the virus spreads unchecked, saying the initial momentum to contain it had since "waned".

The Islamic republic has struggled to curb the outbreak since it reported its first cases in the Shia holy city of Qom in February.

It shut down non-essential businesses, closed schools and cancelled public events in March, but the government gradually lifted restrictions from April to try to reopen the country's sanctions-hit economy.

Egypt lifted many of its restrictions yesterday while continuing to apply certain precautionary measures. The religious endowments ministry reopened mosques as churches prepared to receive worshipers once again.