Virus surge grips world as US sets new daily record

The US coronavirus caseload has reached record heights with more than 83,000 infections reported in a single day, the latest ominous sign of the disease’s grip on the nation, as states from Connecticut to the Rocky Mountain West reel under the surge.

The US death toll, meanwhile, has grown to 2,23,995, according to the Covid-19 dashboard published by Johns Hopkins University. The total US caseload reported on the site Friday was 83,304, topping the 77,362 cases reported on July 16. This harrowing third surge is happening less than two weeks from Election Day, which will mark the end of a campaign dominated by the pandemic and President Trump’s much-criticised response to it.

The seven-day rolling average for new daily Covid-19 cases in the US surpassed 61,140 on Thursday, compared with 44,647 two weeks ago. The record was reached July 22 when the rolling average was 67,293 in the midst of a summer outbreak driven largely by surges of the virus in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.

Dr. Anthony S Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, again stressed the importance of wearing masks, socially distancing, avoiding crowds and regular hand washing on Friday evening in an appearance on CNN.

“It’s not going to spontaneously turn around unless we do something about it,” he said, adding “I plead with the American public to please take these things seriously.”

The US surge mirrors a similarly widespread spike in Europe, where Rome, Paris and other major cities are reining in nightlife as part of the increasingly drastic measures undertaken to slow the spread of the pandemic as winter sets in. France on Friday recorded over 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, becoming the second country in Western Europe after Spain to reach that number. Globally, record 4.9 lakh cases were reported on Friday. The head of the WHO warned that countries in the Northern Hemisphere are at a “critical juncture”. “The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track,” said Tedros A Ghebreyesus on Friday .Agencies