People stand in queue to enter a restaurant on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida on June 26, 2020. (CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

NEW YORK / BERLIN / RUSSELS / NEW MEXICO / PARIS / CAIRO / LONDON - The United States has set a record for new COVID-19 cases for three straight days as the caseload passed the 40,000 level for the first time with 40,588 new infections reported Friday, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Nationwide, total confirmed cases topped 2.45 million with about 125,000 deaths as of Friday afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins university.

The new record for positive COVID-19 tests comes as several states at the center of a new surge in infections took steps back from efforts to ease restrictions on businesses. 

Top US health officials on Friday called on young people to follow COVID-19 guidelines and help stop the spread of the coronavirus. "We are facing a serious problem in certain areas," said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a briefing of the government's coronavirus task force.

Vice President Mike Pence on Friday said 16 states are seeing an increase in cases of the novel coronavirus, with new cases concentrated in certain areas, while 34 are showing a measure of stabilizing.

Florida, Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming all reported record rising in cases this week.

Global tally

Global COVID-19 cases reached  9,778,674 Saturday while the global death toll climbed to 493,674, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

EU

European Union countries failed to settle on Friday on a final "safe list" of countries whose residents could travel to the bloc from July, with the United States, Brazil and Russia set to be excluded. 

Ambassadors from the 27 EU members convened from Friday afternoon to establish criteria for granting quarantine-free access from next Wednesday. 

A redrawn text of 10-20 countries was put to them, but many said they needed to consult first with their governments, diplomats said. The list did not include the United States, Brazil or Russia, one diplomat said. 

The countries are expected to give informal replies by Saturday evening. The European Commission had advised that the bloc first lift internal border controls and then gradually open up to outsiders. However, the first step has not gone according to plan.

UK

Britain will ditch a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving from countries it deems to be lower risk for COVID-19 , the government said on Friday. 

Official travel advice against all but essential travel outside Britain will also be eased for some countries and regions. Taken together, these changes will make it easier for Britons to travel abroad for summer holidays. 

The relaxations are the latest taken by the government to unwind emergency measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, as ministers look to limit the economic damage caused by the virus. 

An expert panel will put nations into three categories: green, amber and red. Passengers arriving from green and amber countries will no longer have to quarantine themselves for 14 days after their arrival.

READ MORE: Virus: 3 US states to quarantine arrivals from 8 hotspot states

Germany

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 687 to 193,243, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. 

The reported death toll rose by six to 8,954, the tally showed.

Russia

Russia on Saturday reported 6,852 new coronavirus cases, a figure that keeps the daily rise below 7,000 for a second day in a row for the first time since late April. The new cases take the cumulative nationwide tally to 627,646. 

The country's coronavirus response centre said 188 people had died of the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 8,969.

France

France reported more than 1,500 new confirmed novel coronavirus cases on Friday, a spike unseen since May 30, while the number of additional fatalities linked to the virus rose by the highest amount in three days. 

French health authorities said in a statement the total of newly confirmed infections rose by 1,588, way above both the daily average of 498 seen over the last seven days and the 430 daily average since the beginning of June. 

The number of people who died from the disease increased by 26 to 29,778, compared to 21 on Thursday and 11 on Wednesday and an average of 19 over the past seven days.

Italy

Italy recorded 259 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours, while active infections dropped to 17,638 from 18,303 in the previous day, the Health Ministry stated on Friday.

Some 890 new recoveries were registered on a daily basis, bringing total recoveries to 187,615.

There were also 30 new deaths, taking the country's toll to 34,708.

The overall number of COVID-19 infections, fatalities, and recoveries rose to 239,961 on Friday, according to fresh data from the Health Ministry. Four cases erroneously included in the Emilia Romagna region were removed from the total.

Hungary

The threat of the novel coronavirus epidemic has not disappeared, but Hungary is prepared for new cases, Hungarian Minister of Human Capacities Miklos Kasler told a press conference here on Friday.

The fact that Hungary managed to get through the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic with success was due to the rapid and effective government intervention and the discipline demonstrated among the population, according to the minister.

Czech

The Czech Republic recorded 168 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, authorities said, the highest daily rise in cases since early April just as the country is starting the two-month summer holiday season. 

It was also the fourth day of the last 10 showing a daily increase of more than 100. Over the past week, the eastern region of Karvina has been by far the most affected by the rise in cases, according to the Health Ministry website.

Brazil

Brazil registered 46,860 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 990 additional deaths, the Health Ministry said on Friday. 

The nation has now registered 1,274,974 total confirmed cases of the virus and 55,961 deaths.

ALSO READ: WHO-led coalition needs US$31.3b to fight COVID-19

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry reported on Friday 5,441 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 719 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 208,392 cases and 25,779  deaths. 

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

A nurse from the Critical Patients Unit takes a break after caring for patients infected with COVID-19, at Barros Luco Hospital, in Santiago, on June 24, 2020.(MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP)

Chile

Chile registered 4,296 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours for a total of 263,360 cases, as well as another 165 deaths for a total of 5,068, the Ministry of Health reported on Friday.

The ministry said that there are currently 2,086 people hospitalized in intensive care units, of which 1,772 are on ventilators, with 437 in critical condition. According to the ministry, there are still 305 ventilators available to the public and private health networks.

Additionally, 18,249 examinations for COVID-19 were administered in the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,043,330 tests administered since the disease was first detected in the country. The ministry reported that there are 9,588 rooms available at the moment in 148 health residences across the country.

Argentina 

Argentina will extend and tighten a lockdown in and around Buenos Aires following a sharp rise in cases of the novel coronavirus in recent weeks, President Alberto Fernandez said on Friday. T

he South American country has done better than regional neighbors Brazil, Chile and Peru in controlling the pandemic overall. But it has seen a worrying recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the densely populated Argentine capital and surrounding Buenos Aires province. 

Overall cases in the country have risen fivefold since late May, hitting over 50,000 on Thursday when there were 2,606 new confirmed daily cases. The death toll stands at over 1,150.

Venezuela

Venezuela’s Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez, speaking on state television, reported 216 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to 4,779.

Rodriguez reported two additional deaths for a total of 41.

Costa Rica 

Costa Rica will will open its international airports on Aug. 1 to tourists from countries that have "controlled transmission" of coronavirus, Health Minister Daniel Salas said on Friday. 

Starting this weekend, Costa Rica will also open more public spaces such as movie theaters, shopping centers and beaches in most of the country, Salas said.

African tally

The threat of the novel coronavirus epidemic has not disappeared, but Hungary is prepared for new cases, Hungarian Minister of Human Capacities Miklos Kasler told a press conference here on Friday.

The fact that Hungary managed to get through the first wave The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday said Africa must be careful and prepare for a rise in the number of cases after easing of lockdowns.

The urgent call was made by John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC, as he noted that "the onset of COVID-19 pandemic was delayed in Africa but the number of cases and deaths is increasing rapidly every day."

According to the latest figures from the Africa CDC, Africa's confirmed COVID-19 positive cases reached 337,315 as of Friday morning as the death toll from the pandemic also rose to 8,863.of the coronavirus epidemic with success was due to the rapid and effective government intervention and the discipline demonstrated among the population, according to the minister.

People wearing face masks sit at a cafe in the capital Rabat, Morocco, after the authorities eased lockdown measures in some cities, that had been put in place in order to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, on June 25, 2020. (FADEL SENNA / AFP)

South Africa

South Africa will allow casinos and cinemas to reopen and restaurants to resume sit-down meals on Monday in a further easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions despite a sharp rise in infections. 

The country began easing restrictions put in place in March last month and at the beginning of June allowed people outside for work, worship, exercise or shopping, and let mines and factories to run at full capacity to try to revive the economy. 

It has recorded 118,375 infections of the highly contagious respiratory disease and 2,292 deaths and daily case numbers rose by more than 6,500 on Thursday after less than 1,000 in April.

Egypt

Egypt on Friday confirmed 1,625 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections registered in the country since mid-February to 62,755, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry.

Death toll from the disease rose to 2,620 after 87 fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

The spokesman said that 399 patients left hospitals on Friday after fully cured, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 16,737.

Morocco

Morocco registered 295 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infection cases to 11,633, while the death toll stood at 218.

The Moroccan government announced on Friday a 21-million-U.S. dollar subsidy package to help print media which suffered from losses in revenues due to closure amid COVID-19.

Tunisia

Tunisian Ministry of Health reported two new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 1,164, including 50 deaths and 1,023 recoveries.

Lybia

The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Saturday announced 15 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total cases inside the country to 713, with 142 recoveries and 18 deaths. 

In a statement released earlier Saturday, the center said it received a total of 476 suspected samples, of which 461 tested negative and 15 positive. 

As precautionary measures to prevent infections and fight the pandemic, Libyan authorities closed the country's borders, suspended schools and mosques, banned public gatherings, and imposed a curfew.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 5,425 after 250 new COVID-19 positive cases were confirmed on Friday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Friday, revealed that from the total of 5,414 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, 250 of them have been tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of cases in the country to 5,425 as of Friday afternoon.

Angola 

Regular international commercial flights to and from Angola will remain suspended indefinitely as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the country, the local transport authorities announced here on Friday. A press release from the country's Ministry of Transport said the decision aims to combat and prevent COVID-19. 

The ministry reiterated that the resumption of commercial flights is dependent on how COVID-19 evolves in the country. Angola has so far registered 244 positive cases, 81 recoveries and 10 deaths.