WHO warns: Largest number of new infections in 24 hours

Over 106,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the past 24 hours. It is the largest number of new cases in one day since the onset of the corona pandemic. Almost 4.9 million people are now infected worldwide, shortly the number of 5 million infections will be reached worldwide.

“We have a long way to go,” said WHO CEO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Nearly two in three cases are recorded in four countries,” he said. Tedros did not say which countries they are, but the latest WHO report shows that it concerns the United States, Russia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia.

The number of US residents infected with the lung virus has now risen above 1.5 million. President Donald Trump emphasized on Wednesday that the high number of infections in the US is a result of US policy to test as much as possible. “I see it as an award,” he said.

After two days with about 800 deaths, the death toll in the US also rose sharply in the past 24 hours, with more than 1,500. In all, 91,845 Americans already died from the lung virus, the highest death toll worldwide.

Russia reported the biggest increase in the death toll since the start of the corona crisis on Wednesday. A further 135 corona patients died in the country, where a total of ‘only’ 2,972 deaths have been reported so far. The official Russian death toll is relatively low. Some countries with fewer infections have reported the deaths of tens of thousands of patients.

The Russian authorities also said that it was established 24 hours ago that another 8,764 people contracted the virus. In total, 308,705 corona cases have already come to light in the country. That is the highest number outside the United States.

In Brazil, for the first time, the mark of 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus has been exceeded in one day. According to the Ministry of Health, 1,179 deaths were registered, bringing the total to 17,971 in Brazil.

In the country of 210 million population, 271,628 people have already been diagnosed with Covid-19. Although the coronavirus is taking a heavy toll in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro called the virus a “flu” and opposed the lockdown measures taken by several governors.

Shortly before the end of the Islamic month of fasting, the number of corona infections also suddenly increased in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Health in Riyadh reported 2,691 new infections on Wednesday. In recent days, the kingdom has clearly registered over 2,000 additional cases each time. According to official figures, more than 62,000 people have now been infected with Sars-CoV-2 in Saudi Arabia, and 339 have died.

To get to grips with the crisis, the government has issued a strict multi-day curfew that will take effect on Saturday before the end of Ramadan and, thus, the Sugar Festival.

The WHO also fears the consequences of this corona pandemic for the poorest countries. “We are deeply concerned about the growing number of cases in low – to medium – income countries,” said Tedros. In those countries, the health system is weak or nonexistent, and measures to keep distance are challenging to implement.