As cases spike around the world, the coronavirus crisis is far from over

NEWS 23.06.202013:13
REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini

More than 9.1 million cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

But as some countries have not yet controlled the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, others have announced new outbreaks.

South Korea and Germany — who initially seemed to have the virus under control — are racing to contain newer clusters, which are threatening their relative progress at containing the pandemic.

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has imposed a new lockdown in the area around a meat factory hit by a coronavirus outbreak.

The district where the Toennies plant is located — and the scene of a Covid-19 cluster that has sickened some 1,553 workers — will return to lockdown measures, it was announced Tuesday.

In South Korea, a second wave of coronavirus outbreak is already underway, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Officials believe the current wave began during the May holiday period.

With the number of cases expected to increase in the autumn and winter months, KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong added that health authorities are readying enough beds to deal with a large-scale outbreak.

Meanwhile, in the US, cases are spiking in some states as the nation continues to reopen. The major thrust of new coronavirus cases is in the South and West, where officials say more young people are ignoring social distancing measures and testing positive.

India, with the fourth-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, has seen more than 100,000 new cases in the past eight days as the country struggles to contain the virus. 

In Latin America, which has seen the biggest recent increases in cases, the also situation continues to worsen. 

On Monday, Mexico recorded a higher daily death count than Brazil for the second consecutive day, with 759 newly recorded deaths and almost 5,000 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to over 185,000 and the death toll to more than 22,500.

Brazil, which has the second-highest numbers of cases worldwide, has reported an average of 1,000 virus-related deaths a day over the past week. Brazil’s Health Ministry reported an additional 654 deaths on Monday, bringing that country’s official coronavirus death toll to 51,271.