New Covid-19 cases in the US are at their highest level in six months.
The US has recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases in nearly six months since February 6th, due to the spread of the Delta variant.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on July 31 thatthis countryThe US recorded 101,171 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. The last time the number of infections exceeded 100,000 was nearly six months ago. The total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US currently stands at 35,733,967 and 629,290 respectively.
New data shows that the total number of new infections in the week ending July 30 in the US was more than five times higher than a month earlier and the highest since February, with 544,569 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Of these, Florida accounted for one-fifth of the total with over 110,000 cases.
Hospitalization rates in the U.S., while significantly lower than the peak in January, have risen by more than 46% in a single week. Death rates have also increased by more than 30%, according to the CDC.
However, the US vaccination rate has surged recently. More than 4.7 million Americans have received the Covid-19 vaccine in the past two weeks, and over 856,000 doses were administered on July 30, the highest level since July 3.
Vaccination rates in U.S. states that were previously hesitant to vaccinate have surged, with Louisiana up 114%, Arkansas 96%, Alabama 65%, and Missouri 49%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Texas last week reported its highest daily vaccination count in a month, up 25% from the previous month.
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Medical personnel take samples for Covid-19 testing in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on July 26. Photo:AP |
The world has recorded 198,488,462 cases of nCoV infection and 4,232,046 deaths, an increase of 520,602 and 8,537 respectively, while 179,252,286 people have recovered, according to the real-time statistics website Worldometers.
European,Protests against "vaccine passports" and Covid-19 restrictions are spreading in Germany and France, while the UK is urging people to continue getting vaccinated.
FranceIran, the world's fifth-largest epicenter of the pandemic with 6,127,019 infections and 111,867 deaths, has experienced its third consecutive week of protests against plans to "ban" unvaccinated or untested Covid-19 individuals from public places.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that more than 204,000 people had protested across France, with over 14,000 in Paris alone. Nineteen protesters were arrested and three police officers were injured.
InVirtueIn Berlin, where 3,776 infections and 92,171 deaths have been recorded, protests against lockdown measures have also taken place in Berlin and other locations.
Older brotherThe report indicated 5,856,528 infections and 129,654 deaths, an increase of 26,144 and 71 cases respectively.
Several leading UK health officials are urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against Covid-19. They point to new data showing that 98% of pregnant women hospitalized with Covid-19 in England since May were unvaccinated.
Previously, the World Health Organization (WHO) also warned that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 than other women of the same age. Many fear the threat to pregnant women is even greater with Delta, a variant that is more contagious and can cause more severe illness than other strains of the novel coronavirus.
In AsiaThe Delta variant has prompted many countries to tighten restrictions, while the WHO is urging the world to quickly find ways to stop this virus strain before it mutates into something more dangerous.
The most serious Covid-19 outbreak was inChinaOver the past several months, the virus has spread to two new areas on July 31st, including Fujian province and Chongqing city.
China recorded 328 symptomatic cases in July, nearly equaling the total number of infections in the country from February to June. The outbreak, which began in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, has now spread to 14 provinces. More than a million Chinese people have been placed back under lockdown, while mass testing campaigns have been launched.
China has reported 92,930 cases and 4,636 deaths from Covid-19 since the outbreak began in Wuhan in late 2019.
InAustraliaIn Brisbane, Queensland's third-largest city, where around 14% of the population has been vaccinated, and in many other areas, a short three-day lockdown was imposed after six new cases were reported from a cluster of the Delta variant.
"The only way to defeat Delta is to act quickly and decisively," said Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles. "The game has changed."
34,130 infections and 924 deaths have been reported in Australia since the outbreak began.
In Southeast AsiaHotspots like Indonesia and Thailand continue to record record high numbers of new infections, as the Delta variant spreads rapidly.
IndonesiaIt is the largest outbreak area in the region with 3,409,658 infections, an increase of 37,284, including 94,119 deaths, an increase of 1,808.
ThailandOn July 31st, a record number of daily Covid-19 cases were recorded with 18,912 infections and 178 deaths, bringing the total to 597,287 and 4,857 respectively. Many hospitals in the capital Bangkok are overwhelmed and forced to transfer mild cases to the provinces.
