[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] As the daily number of new COVID-19 cases continues to hit record highs across major regions worldwide, concerns about a resurgence are growing.
On the 21st (local time), Russia's daily new COVID-19 cases approached 25,000. According to Russian health authorities, 24,822 new cases were reported across 85 regions in the past day. The cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 2,064,748. This marks the fourth time this week that the daily new case record has been broken. After setting new records of 22,778 on the 16th, 23,610 on the 19th, and 24,318 on the 20th, the number rose again to 24,822 on this day.
Russia ranks fifth globally in cumulative COVID-19 cases, following the United States, India, Brazil, and France. In the capital city Moscow, new cases surpassed 7,000 for the first time with 7,168 reported, bringing the total to 547,138. The daily death toll nationwide also reached a historic high of 467, with cumulative deaths totaling 35,778.
On the same day, Tokyo, the capital of Japan, reported 539 new COVID-19 cases. This exceeded the previous record of 534 cases set just two days earlier on the 19th. Tokyo's cumulative cases have surpassed 37,000. Across Japan, 2,426 new cases were reported the previous day, marking the third consecutive day of record-breaking daily increases. In response, the Japanese government held a COVID-19 task force meeting to discuss measures to curb the spread.
Earlier, on the 20th (local time), Brazil surpassed 6 million cumulative cases, ranking third after the United States and India. Brazilian health authorities reported a total of 6,020,164 cases, an increase of 38,397 from the previous day. The first COVID-19 case in Brazil was reported in late February. Although daily new cases had recently dropped below 10,000, the numbers have started to rise again, raising concerns about a resurgence.
Brazil's COVID-19 reproduction number also increased from 0.68 on the 10th to 1.1 on the 17th, indicating that one infected person is transmitting the virus to 1.1 others. The cumulative death toll rose by 552 to 168,613, making Brazil second only to the United States in total deaths. Daily deaths had once decreased to around 100 but are now increasing again.
France and the United Kingdom also reported daily new cases of 22,845 and 20,253, respectively, bringing their cumulative totals to 2,110,021 and 1,474,588.
Amid these developments, concerns about a rise in daily cases have also increased domestically. Im Suk-young, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters' situation management team, explained, "As indoor activities increase and ventilation becomes difficult during the winter season, it becomes seasonally harder to suppress the virus, leading to increased infections in most Northern Hemisphere countries. Some countries are experiencing explosive outbreaks ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of cases." She added, "Although the scale may not be as severe, our country could also face the largest outbreak we have experienced so far."
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