WHO Reports 212,326 New COVID-19 Cases... Record High

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a record high number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide.

According to CNBC on the 4th (local time), the WHO announced that the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases globally in one day reached 212,326. This is the highest number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in a single day.

In the North and South America regions, 129,772 new COVID-19 cases were reported in one day. The United States accounted for 53,213 cases, Brazil 48,105 cases, and the total number of new cases in the Americas represents 61% of the global total.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 10.9 million. Of these, 5.58 million cases were reported in the Americas, which accounts for half of the total. The death toll increased by 5,134 in one day, bringing the total to 523,011 deaths so far.

COVID-19, which first spread in China, has since expanded globally to Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Although the spread had once slowed down, recent resurgence, the emergence of highly transmissible variants, and inadequate responses in some countries have caused the spread to intensify again. A senior WHO official warned that countries around the world need to reintroduce regional lockdown measures to prevent further resurgence of COVID-19.

In northeastern Spain, Catalonia has reintroduced lockdown measures in areas where COVID-19 is resurging. The Catalonia autonomous government announced that, reflecting data showing a rapid increase in COVID-19 infections, lockdown measures will be applied to the city of Lleida in Segri? and surrounding areas where 200,000 residents live.

Research results also indicate that the virus causing COVID-19 is being replaced by a faster-spreading variant. According to a study published on the 2nd in the journal Cell, researchers reported that the COVID-19 virus is being replaced by a variant with faster transmission, which replicates more quickly in the nose, nasal cavity, and throat, resulting in a transmission speed 3 to 9 times higher than the original virus.