Sunday marked new global peak for coronavirus

More than 136,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus across the globe on Sunday, a new apex that has officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) warning that the worst of the pandemic is still ahead.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the number of confirmed cases is rising rapidly in South America and South Asia, which accounted for three-quarters of Sunday’s new cases.

African nations are reporting higher rates of infection, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia are becoming areas of concern.

“Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally, it’s worsening,” Tedros said. “Most people globally are still susceptible to infection.”

Globally, more than 6.9 million people have tested positive for the virus, and at least 401,000 have died, a number that is almost certainly an undercount. The number of new cases globally has risen by more than 100,000 on nine of the last 10 days.

Brazil reported more new cases on Sunday, 27,000, than any country in the world, followed by 22,000 new cases in the United States.

More than 900 people in Brazil died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on Sunday; the United States reported 712 deaths, according to data from the European Centers for Disease Control (ECDC). India, an area of growing concern for public health experts, reported just shy of 10,000 new cases.

Russia, Chile, Peru, Pakistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia all reported big spikes in new cases, the ECDC reported.

“This is far from over,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the senior American leading the WHO’s technical coronavirus team.

WHO experts have called for countries to continue practicing vigilance, even if case counts begin trending in a positive direction.

“We’re encouraged that several countries around the world are seeing positive signs,” Tedros said. “In these countries, the biggest threat now is complacency.”