Global coronavirus report: WHO sees record daily rise in cases around world

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Sunday, with the total rising by 307,930 in 24 hours.

The biggest increases were from India, the United States and Brazil, according to the agency’s website. Deaths rose by 5,537 to a total of 917,417.

India reported 94,372 new cases, followed by the US with 45,523 new infections and Brazil with 43,718. Both the US and India each reported more than 1,000 new deaths and Brazil reported 874 lives lost in the past 24 hours.

The previous World Health Organization (WHO) record for new cases was 306,857 on 6 September. The agency reported a record 12,430 deaths on 17 April.

India leads the world in new daily case numbers and set a global record last week with 97,570 cases reported in a single day, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In some parts of India, medical oxygen is becoming hard to find as total cases exceed 4.75 million. Only the US has recorded more cases, at 6.5 million.

New cases are falling in the US and are down about 44% from a peak of more than 77,000 new cases reported on 16 July. Cases in Brazil are also trending downward.

US president Donald Trump held a Nevada campaign rally at an indoor venue on Sunday, despite public health professionals’ warnings against large indoor gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. People in the crowd were seated close together and many did not wear masks.

Meanwhile, Israel will enter a three-week nationwide lockdown starting on Friday after a second-wave surge of new cases, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, becoming the first country worldwide to reimpose a strict national lockdown.

During the lockdown, which comes during the Jewish high-holiday season, Israelis will have to stay within 500 metres of their house, but can travel to workplaces which will be allowed to operate on a limited basis.

One bright spot globally was Victoria, the Australian hotspot state, which on Monday reported 35 new cases, its lowest daily rise in infections since late June.

The state, Australia’s second most populous, has eased some restrictions in its largest city Melbourne from Monday by shortening the overnight curfew by an hour and doubling the amount of time people are able to spend outside to two hours per day.

Victoria has continued a steady downward trend in daily cases in recent days with the increase in infections slowing to double digits thanks to the hard lockdown from a peak of more than 700 cases in a single day in early August.

Victoria reported 41 cases and seven deaths a day earlier. A further seven deaths were reported on Monday, too.

Here are the key developments:

• New Zealand will remain at its current Covid-19 alert level for at least another week. The country is under low-level restrictions due to continued community transmission of the coronavirus in Auckland, the country’s largest city.

• South Africa’s finance minister, Tito Mboweni, warned on Sunday the economy could shrink by more than the 7% forecast for 2020, stressing that public finances were “overstretched”.

• Spain plans to extend until the end of the year a measure preventing employers from using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to fire staff.

• Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension of international flights from 15 September to allow “exceptional categories” of citizens and residents to travel.

• Around 4,000 health workers demonstrated in Brussels on Sunday, calling for more spending on the healthcare system.