As global infections breached 14 million – with nearly 600 000 deaths – infection spikes in several countries have raised alarm.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported the biggest daily increase in global cases, with the total rising by 237 743 in the 24 hours to Saturday. The biggest increases were reported in the United States (US), Brazil, India and South Africa.
Cases grew in South Africa by 13 285 yesterday to a cumulative total of 350 879 (with 182 320 recoveries). Deaths rose by 144 to 4 948.
Gauteng’s share of national cases rose to 36.7% (128 604), followed by the Western Cape (24.3%, or 85 411), the Eastern Cape (17.4%, or 60 976) and KwaZulu-Natal (11.4%, or 40 086).
Cases in the US grew by more than 76 000, a record for the world’s worst-hit country, according to a report in The Guardian.
In France, where the reproduction rate of the virus in the Brittany region has risen sharply in past weeks, raising fears the virus may be regaining momentum in the country, wearing masks in enclosed public spaces such as banks, shops and indoor markets will be mandatory from tomorrow.
China launched mass health screenings in the western province of Xinjiang after a spike in cases raised fears of a fresh outbreak. Flights into the regional capital Ürümqi were suspended along with the city’s subway services after 17 cases were found yesterday. An official was quoted as saying: ‘The whole city has entered a “wartime state”, and will suspend all kinds of group activities.’
New restrictions were imposed in Spain’s north-eastern Catalonia region, after officials recorded a daily infection figure of more than 1 000. Health authorities were trying to halt this week’s surge, which led to four million people around Barcelona being asked to stay at home for 15 days. Catalonia’s is the worst of 150 Spanish outbreaks and neighbouring France says closing borders should be discussed.
Australia postponed the next sitting of its national parliament as cases continued to surge in and around its second-largest city, Melbourne. A second lockdown has been imposed on the southern state of Victoria, weeks after the initial wave of restrictions was lifted and community transmission briefly appeared to have been eradicated.
In Britain, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the BBC a return to pre-lockdown life was ‘a long way off’.
This followed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suggestion on Friday that it was his ‘sincere hope’ that remaining restrictions could be reviewed in November, at the earliest, and possibly dropped by Christmas.
But Prof John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘If what you mean by normality is what we used to do until February and the middle of March this year – go to work normally, travel on the buses and trains, go on holiday without restrictions, meet friends, shake hands, hug each other and so on – that’s a long way off, unfortunately.’