The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, reported France 24. The total number of cases increased by a whopping 284,196 in 24 hours, with the United States and Brazil accounting for almost half the total. The death toll rose by 9,753, the biggest one-day increase since a record high of 9,797 deaths on April 30.
Around 69,641 new cases were reported in the US, 67,860 in Brazil, 49,310 in India and 13,104 in South Africa. In terms of number of deaths due to coronavirus, Peru reported the maximum 3,876 deaths in 24 hours, Brazil accounted for 1,284, the United States reported 1,074, Mexico 790, and India 740.
The previous WHO record for new cases was 259,848 on July 18. Deaths have averaged 5,000 a day in July, up from an average of 4,600 a day in June.
On Friday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, said herd immunity is still a long way ahead for Covid-19 as around 50 to 60 per cent of the population will need to be immune to the novel coronavirus to protect the uninfected. Herd immunity is when enough people become resistant to a disease to stop its spread.
In a virtual social media live event from Geneva, Dr. Swaminathan said that more waves of the infection would be required to get to a stage of natural immunity.
The WHO’s chief scientist warned that at least for the next year or so, the world needs to be ready to do everything possible to keep the novel coronavirus at bay while scientists continue to work on vaccines. She added that it is important for people to continue to adhere to public health measures like use of masks, social distancing, and regular washing of hands for the time being.
The Covid-19 pandemic has so far infected more than 15.5 million people across the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.
