Masks, Travel Curbs, Testing Ramped Up As Covid Cases Surge

Over 2 dozen countries in Europe had seen resurgences of the deadly virus, says WHO

BANGKOK: Coronavirus case numbers are rising to dire new levels in several US states and around the world, potentially wiping out two months of progress in fighting the pandemic and prompting governments and businesses to impose new restrictions.

Indonesia exceeded the 50,000 mark for confirmed infections on Thursday as the government allowed businesses to reopen amid increasing economic pressures. In Melbourne, Australia, health workers planned to go door-to-door to test more than 100,000 residents in a Coronavirus hot spot that threatens to undo the nation’s success in battling the virus.

India reported a record 16,922 cases on Thursday, taking the national total to 473,105, with nearly 15,000 deaths.

The 34,700 COVID-19 cases reported Tuesday returned the U.S. to near its late April peak of 36,400 new cases in one day, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Several states have set single-day case records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. Some also broke hospitalisation records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina. The virus has been blamed for over 120,000 U.S. deaths the highest toll in the world and more than 2.3 million confirmed infections nationwide. On Wednesday, the widely cited University of Washington computer model of the outbreak projected nearly 180,000 US deaths by October 1.