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Coronavirus pandemic

New global record of coronavirus infections set: 183,000 new cases reported in a day

The previous high was recorded on June 18

© AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo

MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. Global coronavirus spread rate has set a new record - according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of daily new infections increased by more than 183,000. The previous high (181,000) was recorded on June 18.

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An increase of infections was identified last weekend in the United States who still has the biggest number of cases and coronavirus-related deaths in the world. Death rates are soaring in Brazil, Mexico and a number of countries in North and South Americas. Moreover, South America is now a new epicenter of the pandemic.

High rates of coronavirus spread are observed in India, Pakistan and other South Asian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern states.

Overall, WHO says, more than 8.7 million people contracted the virus since the pandemic broke out and almost 462,000 died.

US and Brazil leading

Two-thirds of all new infections confirmed in the world in the past 24 hours are reported in North and South Americas, WHO data shows.

More than 36,600 new infections were identified in the United States. This is the second-highest number for the country, while record-breaking 38,500 cases were reported on April 26. In June, the country has been recording around 20,000 new cases per day. Overall, WHO notes that more than 2.2 million people contracted the virus in the US, while almost 119,000 died from coronavirus-related causes.

Brazil is also reporting grim figures, as the country passed 50,000 coronavirus-related deaths and reached more than 1.08 million infections. Brazil is ranked second in both figures after the US.

American epicenter

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Meanwhile, Mexico hit more than 1,000 coronavirus fatalities in a single day, taking the total over the 21,8000 mark. In deaths, the country is ranked seventh in the world. Moreover, Mexico’s cases surpassed 180,000 on Sunday, ranking it 14th globally.

Peru has more than 8,000 coronavirus-related deaths and almost 255,000 cases, more than Spain and Italy. WHO also notes that Chile now accounts for 236,700 infections, while Colombia reported a new record high number of daily deaths (111).

Epicenter in South Asia

India remains the hardest hit country in South Asia and biggest epicenter of the outbreak in Asia, as rates of infection in this country continue to grow steadily. On Monday, the national health ministry recorded 14,800 new cases, second-highest number since the pandemic began. The record-high was recorded yesterday (more than 15,400 infections). Overall, India has 452,200 coronavirus cases, ranking it fourth in the world after the US, Brazil and Russia. In addition, 445 people died from virus-related causes in India, bringing the total to 13,700.

Neighboring Pakistan also records high number of infections, as 4,500 tested positive in a single day, as cases topped 181,000. Pakistan also has 3,600 confirmed deaths from the virus.

Iran has also been steadily reporting more than 2,000 new daily cases in the last 10 days. Infection rates in Saudi Arabia have also accelerated lately, as cases topped 154,200.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

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