A commuter on the platform at Canary Wharf underground station, during what would normally be the peak morning rush hour, in central London, Sept 4, 2020. (VICTORIA JONES / PA VIA AP)

SAO PAULO /  PARIS / MEXICO CITY / LONDON / SANTIAGO / CAIRO / OTTAWA / TEGUCIGALPA / ADDIS ABABA / MOSCOW / STOCKHOLM / ATHENS - Two of Boris Johnson’s senior ministers laid bare the competing pressures facing the UK government as it attempts to drag the economy out of its worst recession in at least a century without triggering a new wave of coronavirus infections.

Hours after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday reiterated the government’s push to “get people back to work” and lamented the damage done by locking down the economy, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that a recent spike in coronavirus cases among young people could “lead to the sort of problems that we saw earlier in the year.”

The surge risks undermining the government’s push to encourage people back to their workplaces after schools reopened across England last week. But it’s also a sign of how the next couple of months threaten to play out for Johnson’s administration, amid warnings from medical officials about a potential resurgence of COVID-19. On Monday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government wants to avoid a second national lockdown “at all costs” -- but wouldn’t rule one out.

The UK reported 2,988 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, a 64 percent jump from the previous day and the highest level since May 22. That was despite the number of new cases typically dipping on the weekends when reporting is more limited -- the average was about 1,600 new cases a day in the past week.

READ MORE: UK puts cash into immunity research

Global tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide on Sunday surpassed 27 million as the global death toll topped 882,000, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Africa tally

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Sunday said that the COVID-19 death toll in Africa has reached 31,056 while the number of confirmed cases rose to 1,291,724.

The total number of recoveries recorded in the continent stood at 1,031,453, the Africa CDC said.

Africa's total COVID-19 cases represent about five percent of all cases reported globally, it added.

Algeria

Algeria on Sunday reported 293 new COVID-19 cases and seven additional deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the infection tally to 46,364 and the death toll to 1,556, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Sunday's daily increase was the lowest since June 29, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, another 264 patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 32,745, with 44 patients still in intensive care units.

Belarus

Belarus reported 172 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking its total to 73,031, according to the country's health ministry.

There have been 19 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 71,883, the ministry added.

So far, 716 people have died of the disease in the country, including five over the past 24 hours, it said.

Brazil

Brazil on Sunday said it registered another 447 deaths from COVID-19 and 14,521 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, as thousands headed to the beach and other recreational spots for the long Independence Day weekend.

Independence Day falls on Monday, Sept 7.

The Ministry of Health also reported 14,521 new cases, taking the tally to 4,137,521.

In Sao Paulo, the state worst hit by COVID-19 and most populated in the country, less than 40 percent of residents stayed at home, the Globo TV network reported, citing government figures. Scenes of crowded beaches were also reported at Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, despite a current ban.

Meanwhile, according to a survey published in newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo on Sunday, 5 percent of Brazilians would refuse under any circumstances to take a vaccine against coronavirus and a further 20 percent indicated they might not take it. The reasons cited included doubts over its safety and effectiveness, and unfounded conspiracy theories such as fears over genetic manipulation.

ALSO READ: Tedros says 'vaccine nationalism' would prolong pandemic

This photo shows the crowd at the Ipanema beach amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sept 6, 2020. (BRUNA PRADO / AP)

Canada

Canada has so far reported a total of 131,495 cases of COVID-19, including 9,143 deaths, with the trend indicating more new infections detected among younger people, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said Sunday.

People under the age of 40 accounted for over 62 percent of cases, the PHAC said in a statement. The outbreak settings included food, drink and retail venues which tend to attract this younger age demographic.

Earlier on Sunday, Ontario province confirmed 158 new infections, with the majority of infections reported within the Greater Toronto Area, according to CTV.

Out of the 158 new cases, 79 are within the age group between 20 and 39, with 29 under the age of 20; 30 between 40 and 59 years old; and 12 between 60 and 79 years old. There are only eight people over the age of 80.  

Chile

Residents in Chilean towns under continued lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic will not be able to hold social gatherings to celebrate the national holidays, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday.

The decision rescinds an announcement made last week that allowed small social gatherings nationwide for the Sept 18, 19 and 20 celebrations, regardless of a town's pandemic status.

However, mayors of towns with growing outbreaks objected, saying the ban on social gatherings should not be relaxed for the festivities.

The move "aims to keep our guard up against the pandemic that affects the country," the Minister Secretary General of the Government Jaime Bellolio told the mediaby 41 .

Chile posted 2,077 new cases in the previous 24 hours, pushing the tally to 422,510, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday. The death toll rose by 41 to 11,592. 

Egypt

Egypt confirmed on Sunday 151 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the tally to 99,863, said the health ministry.

Another 19 patients died, taking the death toll to 5,530, while 900 others were cured and discharged from hospitals, bringing the total recoveries to 78,108, the ministry's spokesman, Khaled Megahed, said in a statement.

France

France reported 7,071 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, showing the pandemic is continuing to progress at a “worrying” pace, the health ministry said in a statement Sunday. The death toll in rose by just 3 to 30,701 since the start of the outbreak.

“The virus circulation is particularly active among young adults,” probably for lack of respect of health measures, the ministry said. Those aged over 65, who are more at risk, are much better abiding by rules, which could explain the weaker virus circulation, it said.

The number of new cases has multiplied by 12 since early July, while testing has more than doubled in the period, the ministry said. Some 4.9 percent of the tests carried out in the past week were positive.

ALSO READ: Virus: France unveils 100b-euro economic rescue plan

Greece

Greece has registered at least nine cases of coronavirus in the overcrowded migrant camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos so far, a migration ministry official said on Monday.

Last week, the facility was placed under quarantine after authorities confirmed that a 40-year-old asylum-seeker had tested positive for coronavirus.

Since March 1, all migrants reaching Lesbos have been quarantined away from the island’s camps.

The Moria facility, which hosts more than 12,000 people - more than four times its stated capacity - has been frequently criticized by aid groups for poor living conditions.

Most recently, aid groups have warned that social distancing and basic hygiene measures are impossible to implement in the camp due to the conditions.

Greece has recently seen a surge in coronavirus cases. It has recorded 11,524 cases since its first infection surfaced in February, and 284 COVID-related deaths.

Georgia

Georgia confirmed 34 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its tally to 1,684, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) said.

Two of the 34 new cases were imported, the center said.

The number of recoveries stood at 1,315 while the death toll stood at 19, the center said.

Germany

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 814 to 250,799, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.

With no additional deaths reported, the death toll stayed at 9,325, the tally showed.

Honduras

Honduran Finance Minister Marco Midence said on Sunday he has tested positive for the coronavirus, only weeks after stepping into the post.

Midence, 35, said on Twitter that "today I found out that I've tested positive for #covid 19".

Midence, appointed finance minister on Aug 20, said his symptoms are "mild" and that he will remain isolated at home and work from there.

"I will continue to execute the projects and actions under my responsibility," he said.

Honduras has so far reported 64,352 confirmed cases and 2,006 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Hungary

Hungary registered a daily record of 576 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the official active case count to 4,377 in the country of nearly 10 million, the government’s task force said on Monday. 

The country has so far tallied a total of 8,387 confirmed cases, with 625 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. 

In reality, the number of cases is closer to an estimated 100,000 because of Hungary’s relatively low rate of testing, according to Bela Merkely, who advises Prime Minister Viktor Orban on virus policy.

Italy

Italy reported 1,297 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. This is the smallest increase in five days amid lower than usual testing at the end of the week. 

The country has so far reported 277,634 confirmed cases and 35,541 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said in an interview earlier Sunday that the country’s economic rebound in the third quarter will be stronger than initially expected.

The 83-year-old former Italian prime minister is responding to treatment for COVID-19, but remains in a “delicate phase,” Dr. Alberto Zangrillo said on Sunday. 

Libya

The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Monday reported 1,085 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily rate of infection in the country so far.

The center said in a statement it received a total of 4,297 suspected samples, of which 1,085 were tested positive, adding that 81 patients have recovered and 11 died.

A barber wearing a face mask trims the hair of a customer, also wearing a face mask, on a truck set up as a barbershop on a street in Mexico City, on Sept 6, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP)

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry on Sunday reported 4,614 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 232 additional fatalities, bringing its totals to 634,023 cases and 67,558 deaths.

Mexico reported excess deaths of 122,765 from March to August, a 59 percent increase from what was expected, as the coronavirus put the country fourth on the global list of COVID-19 fatalities.

The data from the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control, or Cenaprece, takes into account the total number of deaths, regardless of the cause, general director Ruy Lopez said at a press conference Saturday night, according to national newspaper Reforma. 

Morocco

Morocco on Sunday reported 2,234 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country to 72,394.

Recoveries increased by 1,345 to 55,274 while the death toll rose by 32 to 1,361, according to the Ministry of Health.

Portugal

Portugal on Sunday reported 315 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 60,258, according to the Directorate-General of Health (DGS).

Data on the DGS bulletin showed that two more deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,840.

Russia

Russia will complete early-stage trials of a second potential COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Vector Institute on Sept. 30, the RIA news agency cited Russia's consumer health safety watchdog as saying on Monday.

The news came as Russia reported 5,185 new coronavirus cases, pushing its national tally to 1,030,690, the fourth largest in the world.

Authorities confirmed 51 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 17,871.

This photo shows people walking in a street in Stockholm, Sweden, on Aug 31, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. (TOM LITTLE / AFP)

Sweden's center-left government will boost funding for elderly care by around US$500 million in its 2021 budget after the number of deaths in old people's homes during the coronavirus pandemic sparked widespread concern.

The government has said it will boost spending by more than 100 billion Swedish crowns (US$11.45 billion) in the budget to be published on Sept 21 as it seeks to restart the economy and plug holes in the welfare system exposed by the pandemic.

Our goal must be to build the world's best system of elderly care, and this spring and the coronavirus have showed that we need to speed up this work.

Stefan Lofven, Swedish prime minister

"Our goal must be to build the world's best system of elderly care, and this spring and the coronavirus have showed that we need to speed up this work," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters on Monday.

ALSO READ: Sweden revises COVID strategy after deaths of elderly spiral

Sweden's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has been much larger than its Nordic neighbors, with most of those deaths registered among the elderly, including many residents in care homes.

Around 5,800 Swedes have died compared with around 340 people in Finland, which has about half the population of its bigger neighbor, and Lofven's minority government has faced widespread criticism for failing to protect vulnerable citizens.

Nearly 85,000 confirmed cases had been reported in the country, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

"The budget has a clear direction -- it will make it possible for everyone in our country to contribute and work Sweden out of this crisis," Lofven said.

In addition to the 9.7 billion crowns for elderly care, local authorities will get an extra 10 billion crowns (US$1.14 billion) in grants from the central government, with an additional 5 billion crowns coming in 2022.

US

Coronavirus cases in the US rose to over 6.27 million while the death toll topped 188,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

North Dakota, West Virginia, Hawaii, Missouri and South Dakota led the list, recording gains of 2 percent or more, according to the count of the latest 24-hour period. Georgia became the 10th state to surpass 6,000 deaths.

“Pandemic fatigue” is an additional risk as the US heads into the fall and winter, when infectious diseases traditionally spread more readily, former Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb said.

A vaccine is unlikely to be available for widespread use this year, and more than 20 percent of the US population could be infected with COVID-19 by year-end based on current spread rates, Gottlieb said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.