Almost 40 countries have reported record single-day increases in coronavirus infections over the past week with a pick-up in the pandemic in every region of the world according to according to a Reuters tally. A record 284,196 new cases were reported on Friday, almost half of which came from the US and Brazil, the World Health Organization said. There were 9,753 deaths in the 24-hour period, the highest number since the record high of 9,797 were reported on 30 April. The rate of cases has been increasing not only in countries like the United States, Brazil and India, which have dominated global headlines with large outbreaks, but in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bolivia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Uzbekistan and Israel, among others. Many countries, especially those where officials eased earlier social distancing lockdowns, are experiencing a second peak more than a month after recording their first. The US reported over 1k covid-19 deaths for the fourth day running on Friday, with a daily count of over 75k new cases, according to the New York Times' tally. Fears of a second wave are gaining ground in Europe, as Spain, France and Germany report rising case numbers, the BBC reports.
