Global Covid cases hit highest-ever daily spike but deaths and hospitalisations aren’t following same pattern

THE World Health Organisation has seen its largest daily rise in worldwide coronavirus cases.

A total of 336,500 infections were reported yesterday but deaths and hospitalisations remain flat and are below the first-wave peak.

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It's accepted that increased testing capacity largely explains the higher figures as moderate and mild cases of Covid-19 are being logged.

Official case totals remained far below the true number of infections during the first wave of the pandemic while deaths and cases tracked each other.

As testing capacity has increased worldwide, the number of cases has shot up but it's not produced a large increase in the death toll.

Europe reported 96,996 cases yesterday - the highest one day total for the continent.

Coronavirus cases on the continent virtually doubled between August 1 and September - from around 17,000 per day to 31,000.

Infections doubled again between September and October - from 31,000 per day to 60,000.

Spain experienced a steep rise in Covid cases after non-essential businesses reopened in mid-May and had the highest infection rate in Europe throughout August and September.

Madrid remains the region with the highest infection rate, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

France recorded over 18,000 infections for the second consecutive day yesterday, prompting the government to close bars in Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint Etienne from Saturday.

Bars have been closed since Tuesday in Paris after the capital reported an infection rate of 263 daily cases per 100,000.

Wednesday's figure of 18,746 daily cases was an all-time high for the country.

Germany’s total daily case total rose by more than 40 per cent overnight, from 2,828 to 4,058. 

Health minister Jens Spahn, has said: "The numbers are showing a worrying jump.

"Barely any other country in Europe has managed the crisis as well so far. But we must not gamble away what we've achieved."

CASES RISING ACROSS EUROPE

And Italy has also seen a recent uptick in cases, with 4,458 reported yesterday, though is still well below levels seen earlier in the outbreak.

The Italian government has introduced a decree which forces everyone to wear a mask outside when they are likely to come into contact with people from another household.

Calling on Italians to be cautious, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said: "The enemy hasn’t been defeated yet."

The most affected nations among the second wave have emerged as the Czech Republic and Netherlands, which now top the table in terms of infections per head of population, following Spain's falling numbers.

The Czech Republic, which has reported 22,179 cases and 158 deaths in the past week, had already imposed measures such as limits on bar opening hours, public events and mandatory face-mask wearing.

People in Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven and Rotterdam are being advised to wear face coverings in shops, while pubs and restaurants are also being forced to close at 10pm. 

Ukraine saw a daily record increase of 5,937 in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 4,753 new cases reported on Wednesday.

The WHO also logged rises in other countries. India reported a daily increase of 78,524, followed by Brazil at 41,906 and the United States with 38,904.

Covid-19 infections are rising in 54 countries, including surges in Argentina, Canada and much of Europe, according to a Reuters analysis.

India recorded over 70,000 daily cases yesterday but the figure is below the peak of 97,654 infections reported on September 16.